It's Kai, Not Kairi
by oathk33p3r
Summary: Life at Wataya High is like any other high school. The only difference is, there aren't any girls. That is, if you exclude Kairi Narumi. SxKxR
1. The Call

**It's Kai, Not Kairi**

:The Call:

**Author's Note: **I'm almost done writing the last chapter. I decided to go back and revise the previous chapters to feel a bit more productive, aha.

_Ding dong_

Kairi glanced up from the packet she got from the Destiny High orientation last week. She was reviewing the dress codes before school shopping with Selphie. The standard school uniforms were a must, but there were other garments like cardigans, sweaters, and socks (she loved the warm ones that reached her knees despite the island weather) that the school tolerated as long as they weren't over-the-top flamboyant.

"Oh, my dog--Daddy, it's here!" Kairi shouted.

She threw down the packet, nearly slipped on the other school letters littering the carpet, and ran towards the house door. As she thrust it open, her elbow accidentally knocked down the vase next the umbrellas.

"Oops." She bent down to pick it up and swiftly turned her head, bumping into the door.

"Gosh…" Kairi rubbed her head and finally, looked up at the deliveryman.

"Sorry," she mumbled. She ignored the man's amused look as she gingerly took the parcel and closed the door after thanking him.

Her father entered the room as soon as the door clicked close. He looked more excited than Kairi did.

Kairi placed the box down on the floor and ripped it open, her eyes twinkling. Her dress shirt, vest, skirt and tie were finally here. But the light in her eyes immediately extinguished as soon as she lifted the flaps of the cardboard box.

"Dad, what the heck is this?" she exclaimed as she violently dumped out the uniform and pointed an accusing finger at it.

"It's obviously your uniform."

Her dad slumped back onto the couch and reached for the bottle of coke she had left on the table earlier.

Frustrated, Kairi snatched the bottle out of his hands and stuck the uniform in his face.

"Yeah, but this is a _guy's _uniform. Dad, you didn't sign me up for Wataya High, did you?"

Her father refused to look at Kairi and only stared at the uniform hanging in front of his nose.

Kairi didn't need her father to answer. For the past few months, no, _years_, her father had been treating her like her brother. She had to register to Destiny High herself, and she's been ignoring her father's constant trips to Wataya High. When her father didn't forbid her from going to the Destiny High orientation, she thought he had given up on the all-male high school.

"I expect you to wear that uniform and attend that school. It is well-known for its academics and discipline. I've gone through a lot trying to sign you up."

"But all school with all males? Aren't you worried about that?" Kairi couldn't believe this.

"You won't be caught. Cut your hair short and abandon your feminine ways. It'll come naturally for you."

"This is no time to joke around, Dad."

"Look. Wataya High will open many doors for you. I've attended it, your grandfather attended it, and so did your great-grandfather."

So that was it. He just wanted to carry this on.

"Take this and get a haircut," her father said as he got up. He stuffed a few coins into Kairi's hand.

Stray tears escaped Kairi's eyes. Tears of fury. She angrily threw the uniform and money at his feet.

"Mom wouldn't have made me do this."

"I'm not your mom" was her father's answer.

"And I am not your son. Your son is dead." She spat out each word with venom barely above a whisper.

Her father's face hardened.

"That's why you will carry on his duties," he said coolly. "You're going to that school and that's final."

Kairi angrily glared at her father as he walked out of the living room. Letting out a deep sigh, she looked down at her uniform and made a face of disgust.

O

"Hello?" Kairi answered the phone.

"Hey Kairi! So when do you wanna go school shopping? I totally can't wait to get some new shoes." Selphie's hyper voice buzzed through the phone.

Kairi felt a lump starting to form in her throat as she tried to find the right words to say. Wrapping her finger around the cord, she finally cleared her throat and forced out the words: I can't.

"Aww, come on! We did this since the fourth grade!" Selphie started to use her innocent cute voice.

"Selphie," Kairi let out a deep sigh. "I'm not going to Destiny High," she choked out.

"What?" was her immediate response. After a heartbeat, a flood of questions poured out of the receiver.

"Selphie, slow down. It's complicated. I'll tell you another day. I'm really sorry," Kairi hung up before her friend could protest. She sighed and leaned against the hallway walls, deep in thought.

"Hope you're happy, Mom. I'm going to the best school ever, but it's an all-boys school. Isn't that great?" Kairi said sarcastically.

She looked at the mirror hanging in the hallway and stared at the liar who peered back at her with weary eyes; a liar who was going tell the world that she was a boy. Her shoulder length hair was cut short and looked like uncut grass growing in all directions. Kairi ran her hand through the auburn strands and started towards her room, thinking about how to cover her short height.

"_I can just tell them I didn't go through puberty yet," _Kairi thought.

It wasn't really a lie after all; her monthly sessions hadn't started yet, which was good in a way.

Kairi walked into her brightly painted room and switched on the lights. Her school uniform was lying on her bed as if mocking her. She angrily grabbed it and hurled it across the room. Switching the lights off, she jumped into her bed and pulled the covers over her head. It was way past her usual sleeping time and tomorrow was the first day of her new, phony life

O

The warm sunlight shined through the open window and roused Kairi awake.

Muttering to herself, she turned away from the bright light. The weather was totally inappropriate based on her current mood. She tried to pull the blankets over her head but seeing that she had kicked off the blanket at night, she stuffed her head under her pillow instead.

She didn't notice that her old man was standing over her, ready to wake her up.

"Get up, Kairi! It's a bee-yoo-tee-full day!" her father shouted.

"Dad, if you're going to use that volume right next to my ear, you might as well get ready to sign me up for sign-language classes," Kairi mumbled grumpily.

"Aww, come on. It's not that bad. After all, you won't be seeing me until Thanksgiving." Her dad smirked.

Kairi bolted upright and stared at her father aghast.

"What? Are you telling me I have to _live _at the school, too?" Kairi opened her eyes wide in horror.

"Of course, you won't have time to go back and forth every day."

"You sick old man!" Kairi threw her pillow at her dad and got up.

"Get out, I gotta change."

"Okay, at least you're not protesting."

"Get out!" Kairi repeated as she pushed her father out of her room and slammed the door behind him.

Kairi ran her hand through her short hair and sighed. She looked at the uniform with fear and slowly went over to it. She first pulled down her night pants and slid her legs into the size-small uniform. It was strange without feeling the usual freedom her old skirt gave her.

O

A few hours later, Kairi found herself on the colossal school campus. It was almost like a college and immediately would've put Destiny High to shame. She looked around in awe. She couldn't help but admit that it was pretty impressive. Every blade of grass looked identical to the other and the floors were covered with unblemished marble indoors as well as outdoors.

There was no sign of vandalism either, unlike her previous school. She tilted her head back to see the top of the school building. The rows and rows of windows seemed to have no end. As soon as her head was almost touching her back, she found herself staggering back. Fortunately, she didn't land on the floor due to the person right behind her.

"Oh my, sorry," she apologized.

She looked up to see a pair of annoyed, ocean-blue eyes.

"_Wow, you're really hot" _she thought automatically.

"What?"

The annoyed look on the boy's voice merged with a face of curiosity as he bent down and took a closer look at Kairi.

"Aren't you a girl?"

"Huh? What?" Kairi snapped out of her daze and realized she had commented on his beauty out loud.

"NO! I'M 120 PERCENT MALE! I meant that your eyes were really hot. I mean, NO! NOT IN THAT WAY! Like as in the burning sweating hot. Because, uh, you looked so mad, and uh…yeah." She quickly stepped away from the blue-eyed brunet, grabbed her bag, and stumbled past him.

"Wow that was close. Hope he fell for it," Kairi panted.

She realized it was going to be harder than it looked, to be at a unisex school. The overload of testosterone and good-looking males might be difficult to ignore.

O

"Creepy idiots these days," the blue-eyed brunet murmured as he followed the crowd of students heading for the auditorium.

He stopped when he saw something lying on the ground. It was an ID card. He nudged it with the edge of his foot and bent over to read the name. The photo indicated that it was the boy he had ran into a few seconds ago.

"Kai Narumi," he muttered.

The brunet stared hard at the little picture of 'Kai'. He really didn't look 120 percent male; his hair maybe, but not his face. His eyes looked wild enough, but there was something soft and delicate about his features.

Nevertheless, the brunet picked up the card and pocketed it.


	2. You're Hot

**It's Kai, Not Kairi.**

:"You're Hot":

**Author's Thanks:** Thank you so much for all the encouragement. Well, hope you enjoy this chapter. Oh yeah, this has been revised.

Kairi let out a big exasperated sigh as she inched along the traffic. Despite the school's size, everything seemed too crowded for her likings. Exactly how many male students lived on the tiny island? The crowd thickened as she got closer and closer to the auditorium. Everyone was to attend the first-day-of-school greeting. She was used to the pushing and shoving by now, but one extra painful push struck her from the back and sent her tumbling to the floor.

A large boy who could've used some acne-cream loomed over her.

"Watch where you're going, shorty. I might step on you next time." Two deep-set eyes glared at her.

"Yeah, shorty. Watch where you're going," another boy sneered.

The two stepped over her and continued to follow the rest of the crowd.

"Or maybe you should give me some of your fat and everybody will be happy!" Kairi snapped, angry herself.

The boy looked back at her in fury. He waddled back to her and picked her up by the collar.

"What did you say? Tell me; say that one more time or I'll punch your teeth out." His words were followed by a foul scent.

"Better clean yours first," Kairi said coldly.

"Why you little--" He balled his free hand into a fist and brought it down hard on Kairi's face.

The traffic thickened as passing students slowed down to witness the commotion. They stared at Kairi, who was sprawled on the floor with a heavy nosebleed. Weakly, she got up in a sitting position and wiped her nose with the back of her sleeve, her eyes clouded with pain.

"Is that all you've got?" The boy laughed, cracking his knuckles. He stopped laughing and squatted down to her height level.

"Or do you have anything else to say with that big mouth of yours?" He asked, his beady black eyes holding no sympathy.

Kairi defiantly looked at his and scowled.

"At least it's not as big as your pot belly!" she spat, regretting it right after.

This was too much for the bully and he violently picked her up and got ready to punch her yet again.

Kairi shut her eyes tight and lifted her arms for self-defense, ready for the blow, but it never came.

_Silence._

Slowly, she opened one of her eyes, then the other. After she saw the position of the fist, she let her arms relax.

A metallic haired boy with aquamarine eyes had grabbed the obese student's arm just in time.

"Leave him alone," he commanded with a voice as deep as the sea.

Kairi's heart began to race. He was almost as attractive as the other 'hot' boy.

"After I rip out his mouth first, Captain," he grumbled.

The 'Captain' tightened his grip on the fist. "I said, leave him alone."

Without another word, Kairi felt her feet touch the ground again and looked up. The bully had pushed his way through the crowd without a word and the 'Captain' was looking down at her, one of his eyebrows raised.

"Thanks," Kairi said gratefully.

But the 'Captain' was still staring at her, his eyes like stone. Then they softened.

"Next time, just walk away. You don't know what he could've done to you," he replied with a smile.

He gave her a small bow and headed towards the wide open doors of the auditorium.

Everything was silent. Kairi realized that what seemed like the entire was crowding around her, their face in awe. It was so silent that it hurt to listen.

"Uh, hi..?" Kairi forced a laugh. "I uh, I'm Kairi--I mean, KAI! Yeah, Kai. Kairi is a cousin of mine. Yeah, and uh, um, I really should be going now." She quickly picked up her bag that had fallen on the floor and ran to the nearest escape--the bathroom.

As she pushed her way through the crowd, she felt the awkward stare from each male student like spears. Crying, she wiped away her bloody nose and salty tears.

A brunet who had just joined the crowd watched the particularly short student. He let out an exaggerated sigh.

His navy blue tie was limply hanging around his neck and his collar wasn't straight. His hair spiked out from all directions and seemed to defy gravity. His school jacket slumped over his shoulder and his shirt wasn't tucked in. A book bag, which appeared to be his, was lying on the floor.

"Gosh, so much drama." He wrapped his arms behind his neck and looked up at the ceiling, slowly shaking his head as he leaned against a nearby pillar.

Kairi pushed the door open and ran into one of the stalls, her tears and blood dripped onto the floor with a loud _plop_. She shut the door close behind her and sat on the toilet, bawling.

"Mommy, I don't want to do this!" she wailed childishly.

Kairi wiped away the blood that now found its way into her mouth; it tasted bitter and unpleasant on her tongue. Her tears subsided a little as her eyes took in the small stall.

The walls were made out of black something she didn't recognize and the toilet was automatic. The toilet paper rolls were neatly in its place, not used yet. She pulled on the end and ripped it out, wiping her nose with it.

Then, Kairi smiled.

"Ahhaha, that was funny. 'Cause he was fat!" She giggled and then shrunk back to her little ball and started to cry even louder.

O

As everybody piled into the auditorium, the brunet picked up his book bag and trudged behind, but a faint wailing caught his ears. Curious, he dropped out from the crowd of boys and made his way towards the bathroom.

As soon as the polished door was opened, the wailing burned through his ears.

He winced but stepped inside, his shoes making little echoes as it hit the white, tile floor.

He found the stall where all the wailing was coming from and rapped it with his knuckles.

Kairi froze and looked up. Panicking, she quickly answered in a deep voice, "Somebody's in here." Then went on crying.

More knocking followed right after she answered.

"Somebody's in here." She repeated.

Once again, the person knocked.

"Are you deaf? Somebody's already in here!" Kairi thrust the door open and stared up at two very familiar ocean-blue eyes. It was _him_. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Figures. Your behavior fits your height," he jeered.

Kairi was still not over staring at him.

"You know, you look really cool when you do that eyebrow thingy," she pointed out, apparently mesmerized.

He raised his eyebrows again instinctively then frowned.

"You sure you're 120 percent male? You look more like a frog to me," he said amusingly.

Kairi shook her head violently and looked at him with full alert.

"Oh, hi! I didn't—I didn't know you were here!" Kairi spluttered. She stumbled out of the stall while using the back of her hands to wipe the blood and tears.

She blinked away the last of the teardrops clinging onto her eyelashes and licked the blood away from her upper lip. It almost looked suggestive.

"What are you doing? Stop fooling around and go to the auditorium. The principal already started talking." The brunet turned around and started to leave, his hands stuffed deep in his pockets.

"Wait! What's your name?" Kairi asked with pure curiosity.

"What does it mean to you?" was his reply accompanied by an indifferent. He took a few steps before stopping again.

"Oh, and uh, you dropped this by the way." He took out his hand, which was holding her ID card, from his left pocket and threw it over his shoulders towards Kairi.

Kairi ran to catch it but slipped and fell flat on her back.

"Stupid, I already told you to stop fooling around," he muttered. Not hearing an answer, he turned around.

Kairi was out cold and sprawled on the tile floors. He quickly ran by her side.

"Hey, you dead? Answer me!" Panicking, he looked around for help. Finding nothing, he glanced at the unconscious idiot and growled something about stupid people.

He rolled up his sleeves and dragged Kai to the corner of the bathroom and covered her with his jacket.

"You're hot," she muttered.

The brunet stared down at her then shook his head. Without looking back, he casually went out to join the others as if there wasn't an unconscious student in the bathroom.


	3. Sora Wataya

**It's Kai, Not Kairi**

:Sora Wataya:

**Read this: **Like said before, the whole idea of Kairi going to an all guy's school is from the manga Girl Got Game. But the plot is what I own.

_Thud_.

Kairi looked around to find herself standing on a soft, white padded floor. The air was heavy with the scent of old, cheap toiletries.

"What the...?" She timidly lifted one of her feet and stared and stared at it. It was toilet paper.

"What the heck? AH! It's toilet paper!" Kairi gasped.

A loud rustling caught her attention from behind. It was a gigantic hand. It was coming towards her, no, the toilet paper.

As it got nearer and nearer, Kairi frantically scouted the area for something to grab a hold of.

_I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die._ Kairi screamed from inside.

The large roll of toilet paper started to roll. Kairi slipped and grabbed onto the side of it, almost losing her grip. Straining, she hung on for a bit longer, then, she fell.

"AHHH!" Kairi bolted upright, sweating. She looked around.

She was in the bathroom. She let out a big sigh. Then, her eyes landed on another lavender-blue pair looking up at her from her ID card. It was a girl. A girl that was meant to look like a man.

Kairi gingerly picked it up with two trembling hands and looked at herself. She was a mess. This whole plan was a mess. She threw her ID card against the wall and thrust herself onto the floor, bawling.

Her crying muffled the sounds of footsteps coming near and the door creaking open.

Oblivious to the person standing right behind her, she continued to cry. Finally, a tap on the shoulder made her look up. It was the 'Captain'.

He looked down at her and smiled.

"You're that squirt that stood up to that one punk." His aquamarine eyes twinkled with amusement.

"Oh, uh, yeah." Kairi quickly wiped away her tears and looked at him. There was a shiny, metal tag on the right of his school jacket. It read, "Riku Itani" and right under it in smaller letters, "Wataya High President". Tucked in his arm was a folder with a countless number of loose papers jammed into it.

He caught her looking at his badge and grinned.

"My name's Riku. I'm a sophomore. Nice to meet you, but you really shouldn't be here. You're supposed to be looking for your dorms. Do you know where to go?" Riku asked.

"Um, actually. I don't even know where the dorm wing is." Kairi admitted, stiffly getting up from the floor.

"No problem. I'm doing the night patrol today. I'll take you there and also give you a brief tour of this school," Riku offered.

"Thanks dude, but I think I'll be fine. All I need to know is where I'm sleeping an' all." Kairi said in a voice half an octave lower. She had briefly forgotten she was a guy until he mentioned the school.

Riku stared at her. Then slightly shook his head to himself. "Anyway," Riku said while opening the folder up and scanning through a bunch of names on the first page.

"What's your name?" He asked without looking up.

"Kairi—Kai, KAI!" Kairi blurted out. "Narumi," she quickly added.

"Grade?" Riku asked paying no heed to Kairi's mistake.

"Ninth," Kairi answered clearly this time.

She saw him slide his finger towards the middle of the page and tap it.

"You'll be rooming with a guy named Sora Wataya. Let's go. It's on the eighth floor and the elevator broke." Riku said brightly.

Kairi groaned. Her head was still ringing and her nose throbbed every time she breathed. She was definitely not in the mood for walking a flight of stairs.

"Come on, we're tough men." Riku laughed.

"Heh," Kairi answered.

As the two started to climb the interminable stairway, Kairi asked about her roommate, the 'Wataya' guy.

"Oh, his family is the founder of the school," Riku began. "So you should be on his good side. You could say he's the sarcastic, stubborn, serious, always-bored-looking type." Riku grinned.

"But he's really fast. Actually, he beat the school record by minutes. You'll get to know more about him yourself." Riku finished.

"Ohh…." Kairi said absentmindedly. As they got nearer and nearer to the eighth floor, Riku started to talk about the location of all the important departments that actually mattered to her.

"There's one bathroom with one bath in each room. Right now, the warm water isn't working, so unless you want to use really cold water, I suggest you go to the public one across the street..." Riku stated.

Kairi opened her eyes wide, fully awake from her resent slumber. Looking at her expression, Riku added, "Or if you're one of the shy folks, you could wear a swimming suit if you want." He shrugged.

"Breakfast is at 7, lunch at 12, and dinner at 6. If you're late, that's your problem. The cafeteria is on the fifth floor by the way. The elevator will work sooner or later. Oh, and here's the list of your classes." Riku stopped long enough to take out a white piece of paper and hand it over to Kairi.

Kairi accepted it not too excitedly, still thinking about what to do with her bath.

"If you're late to class, you'll get a warning. Get five and it's detention. Get another five and you're expelled unless you have a very good excuse." Riku said as if he's said this many times in his life.

By the time the two have reached the eighth floor, Kairi was literally crawling. Riku was still in perfect shape. He looked down at her and laughed good-heartedly.

"You'll get use to it. Your room number is 203. I actually live right across from you, so if you need anything just come by my room."

"I gotta go back to night patrol now. I'll see you around," Riku nodded in goodbye and descended down the never-ending stairway.

Kairi sighed and trudged down the long hallway until she was facing a blue-coated door with the brass numbers '203'. At the time, she was too much in a daze to wonder why Riku, a sophomore, was with the freshmen, and why he would have her schedule.

She shifted her backpack to her other shoulder, took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

"Hey Sora! I'm your new roommate, Kai!" Kairi said brightly as soon as she stepped in.

A pair of too-familiar blue eyes looked up at her from behind the school newspaper.

Kairi stared at him.

"You're Sora?! No, you can't be. GET OUT! GET OUT NOW!" Kairi screamed, her face turning crimson.

He stared at her for a bit longer, shrugged, closed his newspaper and walked past her outside.

"Happy, oh Mr. Frog? You know, I know of this great place for people like you." Sora said with an air of sarcasm.

Kairi looked at him. "What do you know about me?" she asked suspiciously.

"I'm certain you're not 120 percent male." He nodded sympathetically.

Kairi stared at him with disbelief.

"I am too! If I'm not man enough, then you aren't either." Kairi scoffed.

"Be mature," he simply said. He pushed past her and flopped down on his bed and turned his attention back on the school paper.

Kairi stared at him for a bit longer, then yelled, "I LOVE PORN!" she clasped her mouth with both of her hands as soon as she said this.

Doors banged open out in the hall a second later with guys in their pajamas or half undressed. Blushing Kairi quickly ran into her room and slammed the door.

She didn't want to look at Sora anymore. She had already lost her chance with him. She was a _guy. _

Kairi shuffled over to what seemed to be her bed from now on, seeing that the other one next to the window was taken. Not bothering to look around the rest of the room or changing, she plopped onto her bed, face down and pretended to fall asleep.

She could still faintly hear the rustling of papers as the Sora Wataya flipped through the pages.

"Stupid jackbutt." She said to herself before closing her eyes to continue to be 'asleep.'

O

Kairi flipped her eyes open and bolted upright on her bed. She looked around. Light filtered through the window next to Sora and pleasantly landed on his face, giving him an angelic glow. He was about four feet away from her. Kairi looked at him for a long time then her eyes traveled through the whole room. She saw that they each had a desk a few feet away from the foot of their beds, and there was a trunk, also by the foot of the bed, where they kept their personal items.

The bathroom was right next to her. Suddenly, she realized she had to go really bad. She quickly threw herself out of bed and her socked cover feet padded a few steps across the floor until she realized she got up too quick. On top of that, she was still not in the best conditions due to yesterday's incident with the bully.

"Stupid low blood pressure," she mumbled as she grabbed her head, dazed. She fell on her knees and onto her back right at the threshold of the door, blacked out.

O

Sora slowly opened his eyes. He immediately shut them and turned his back towards the sunlight. His unfocused eyes soon adjusted to the dimmer part of the room. He stared for a while then realized his roommate was gone.

"Probably went downstairs first," he answered himself. He tossed off the heavy winter covers and lazily went towards the bathroom. Not looking where he was going, his foot got caught on something and landed face down on whatever it was.

He shook his head like a wet dog and looked down at what he fell on. It was Kairi.

"ARGH!" He threw himself off of her and backed against the wall.

Then, realizing she was asleep, he slowly crept towards her and poked her face.

"Hey. What's the deal?" He shook his head and then pried her eyes open.

He gazed at them. _They're such a unique color._

He shook his head again and got up. He started to kick his knocked-out roommate.

"You're blocking the way, Mr. Frog. Get up or I'll have to move you myself," he commanded. He waited for a while, and then looked beat. He inhaled sharply and picked her up.

_Wow. He's really light. Guess __it's 'cause __he's so short. _He thought as he placed her away from the bathroom door. He went his way in and shut the door behind him.

O

Kairi opened her eyes for the second time that morning. The scratchy carpet was rubbing against her drool-covered cheek.

Remembering what had happened before, she slowly got up, used to the dazed feeling that disappeared in about 20 seconds. She hastily wiped her drool with the back of her hand and looked up at the digital watch on the nightstand. '7:25'.

"_Breakfast is at 7, lunch at 12, and dinner at 6. If you're late, that's your problem."_

"SHOOT! I'M FUDGING LATE!" Kairi quickly thrust the door open, ran down the hall and literally flew down the stairs.

_"Stupid Stupid Stupid Stupid" _Kairi repeated in her head with each step.

"AHH!" Kairi accidentally stepped on her untied shoelace and tripped, tumbling down the stairs.

On the bottom of the stairs were the familiar blue eyes looking at her in dismay...

Revised: 71809


	4. Shoelaces

**It's Kai, Not Kairi**

:Shoelaces: 

**Author's Notes:** Apologies for not updating. Sorry if it's not that detailed, getting lazy over the summer. This fanfiction was inspired by the manga **Girl Got Game.**

Kairi Narumi was a normal teenage girl attending an all-male school for her freshman year. She was an athlete, a dreamer, and a decent student. She was also an avid manga-reader. Therefore, she was fully aware of the whole land-on-guy-and-oh-no-I-kissed-him situations. But never had she dreamed that it would be even possible in the real world.

_I, Kairi Narumi, has had her first kiss..._

Kairi stared down at the body that cushioned her. Quickly, she scrambled off of Sora and crawled away to a safe distance, looking the other way and wishing to melt to some faraway land.

Bystanders stared at them, interested, but silent. Time seemed to have stopped.

Kairi looked around. It felt like the whole world was staring at her. Her eyes began to sting and the crowd became distorted figures.

_Mom, I want them to stop. __Mom…Mom…_

"AH HA HA HA HA!" A voice shattered the silence.

A flaming orange hair teen was breaking through the crowd that started to form around Kairi and Sora.

"That was funny, ya. That was your first kiss, you two?" He laughed at his own joke then smiled broadly at both of them as if waiting for an answer. Only glum looks were returned.

"Aw, come on, man. Just laugh it off, ya? Just a joke?" His smile lowered and he looked around.

Noticing that nobody else was laughing, he backed away and disappeared into the crowd.

As if that was a cue, everybody started whispering to each other.

"Man, didn't Wataya have anger management problems when he was little?"

"That kid must have the worst luck, messing with a guy like him."

"Yea, I heard he still has problems controlling his anger."

Eavesdropping, Kairi opened her eyes wide and her mouth dropped open. She's seen him mad before, but to think he had anger management problems? From the corner of her eye, she saw that he was just sitting there, as if he was deep in thought. He didn't really look mad. That was until she caught his eyes; they were on fire again.

The whispering subsided and a hundred pairs of eyes were looking at the two students sitting on the floor.

Sora slowly ran his finger tips over his lips and looked as if he was a little boy who lost his dog.

Confused, Kairi tried to see what was going on in his mind. But before anything else happened, Sora jumped to his feet and ran past everybody, ignoring eye contact.

"Wait, Sora! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to land on you! It was an accident," Kairi stammered as she tried to stand up.

A horrible pain shocked her left leg. She fell back on her back and winced. Everybody else was continuing what they were doing as if there wasn't an injured student bleeding to death.

Feeling hurt and confused, she gingerly rolled up her pants leg, which clung to her skin, and gawked at the bloody mess. She didn't notice footsteps echoing towards her while she was crying over her leg.

"Let me take a look."

Slightly jumping, Kairi looked behind her shoulder. A tall blonde was leaning forward looking at her leg.

Without standing, she turned around and showed the blonde her wound. She carefully looked at him. His blonde hair was messy like most of the other kids and his sapphire eyes looked energetic, yet slightly bored as if he was used to inspecting people's legs.

She bit her bottom lip as he poked her leg around. Then, he ripped the bottom of his shirt and tightly tied it around her knee.

"That will stop the bleeding. Your leg isn't broken, just badly bruised. Just go to the nurse later." He stopped and looked at her in the eye for the first time. His bored expression turned into keen interest.

He stood up, took a step back and let out a long whistle. "Wow, you really look like a gal. Freaky how people could look like that."

"Got my looks from my mom's side. Ah ha ha ha. AH HA HA HA! What a knee slapper!" Kairi deliberately laughed and slapped her knee, only to realize that it was her bruised one.

The blonde raised an eyebrow at her and stared.

Feeling herself burning up, she slowly got up and muttered a thank you.

"No problem, man. Oh, and you should tie your shoelace. Is that how you-"

"Ow!"

"Hey, you ok?" The blonde ran over to her and kneeled next to her.

Painfully, Kairi got up to a sitting position, her nose, already slightly bruised from yesterday, throbbing with pain. She felt something moist drip from her nose.

"My dog, I got another bloody nose." Kairi gently touched the crimson liquid slowly edging its way to her mouth.

"Dog?"

Kairi looked at the blonde as if she forgot he was there.

"Oh, yea. My mom use to say that a lot. I don't know why. I guess she just wanted to have her own way of cussing." Kairi smiled and wiped her nose on her sleeve and stood up moaning.

"Well, thanks for everything. The name's Kai by the way. Kai Narumi. Hope to see you around." Kairi started towards the cafeteria.

"Wait!"

Kairi looked back and saw the blonde coming towards her. He looked at her then bent down on one knee. He took her shoe and started to tie her untied shoelaces.

"You might fall again," He smirked and looked up, "and my name's Tidus."

He stood up and saluted.

"Well, go eat your breakfast. See ya."

Kairi watched as Tidus walked away to wherever he had to go. She let out a long sigh and looked down the long hallway that led to the cafeteria. She didn't feel like eating anything, after all that has happened.

Classes didn't start until after breakfast, which meant she had an hour left. Despite her bruised leg, she climbed up the stairs, limped into her dorm, and fell back on her bed.

She closed her eyes and put her arm over them. Despite her throbbing leg and nose, she could only think of those blue, blue eyes.

It was her first kiss. Why did it have to be this way?

"Stupid shoelaces. You ruined my life," Kairi sighed as she briefly got up to take of her uniform jacket.

She was about to toss it onto the floor, but the sight of the school logo stopped her.

What was she doing here?

Suddenly, it wasn't her shoelaces' fault. It was _his._

Kairi bit her bottom lip and wiped away the tears that had suddenly squeezed through her shut eyelids. Her grip on the jacket tightened, her knuckles turning white.

She felt as though an entire volcano seemed to have erupted inside her as she started to sob.

"It's your fault! It's all your fault, big brother!" she cried into her jacket. "It's because of you that I'm here!"

"I hate you! I HATE YOU, SQUALL! I HATE—I hate..." Kairi fell face forward and silently sobbed as she thought of that horrible, bloody night.

"_Squall! NO! Mommy! Squall, what's going on! What's happenin__g?__W__hy__ is__ Mommy lying on the floor__ like that__?"_

"_Kairi, Don't worry, just go to Selphie's house and don't come out until I go and get you. Go, NOW!"_

"_NO! I'm not leaving! I have to protect you!"_

"_Kairi, just do as I tell you, LEAVE!"_

"_NO!"_

_It was my fault he died. Only if I had listened, he wouldn't have been killed by those mysterious creatures. I was so scared._

Anger and frustration was replaced with guilt as Kairi cried into her uniform jacket. Using her dead brother as a scapegoat was a new low.

"What are you screaming about?"

Kairi gasped and glanced up to see Sora standing by the bathroom door. His hair was wet and a towel hung over his shoulder. Apparently, he had skipped breakfast as well.

"Crying over an accidental kiss? Is your life really that dull?"

Anger slowly took over his seemingly indifferent face.

"I think it'll be best for you to shut up. Some people are going through much more than you. Think of them," he hissed.

With that, he violently threw his towel at Kairi's face and headed towards the door.

Kairi knew it was best to leave this guy alone, especially due to his history of anger management problems. But her pride possessed her entire body and soul.

She grabbed the towel and angrily threw it at Sora's head, standing up.

"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M GOING THROUGH!" she shouted after him.

Sora stopped in his tracks as the towel slid off his back. He only readjusted his book bag and left.

As soon as he was gone, the bell rang to let her know that it was almost time for her first class.

O

The halls were bustling with boys getting to class. She was nearly trampled on and almost died trying to get to the gym lockers. She let out a silent scream as soon as she walked in.

Bare skin was all she was able to see everywhere she stared. A whiff of sweat and cologne smacked her in the face.

"Hey," one of the boys nearest to her waved. An unnecessary welcome.

"Uh, hi," Kairi managed to say as she edged towards the back row of leftover lockers, using her hands as blinds.

As she took off her book bag, she realized she had to change too. Her face turned pale as she started conjuring all the possible ways she could change without being noticed.

On the other side of the wall, she heard the faint flushing sound of a toilet.

"That's it!" Kairi nearly said aloud.

She grabbed her gym clothes and went into the locker bathroom. Luckily, it was completely empty. Just her, the three urinals and sinks, and the lovely stall. She went in the only stall and latched the lock behind her.

She stripped off her clothes and tightened the ribbon that bound her flat, but not nonexistent, chest. Then she threw over her gym shirt and pulled up her gym shorts.

"Can't believe I'm going to haveto do this everyday," she muttered, picking up her clothes and pushing herself out of the stuffy stall. She nearly bumped into the person who was waiting.

Kairi mumbled an apology and looked up to see who it was. It was Tidus.

"Oh, hi!" she greeted.

"Hey." He smiled and went past her, but stopped. He stepped back and looked at her hesitantly.

"You really, really look like a girl. I don't know why but I have this feeling that…"

He stopped talking and furrowed his brows. He then walked closer to her and bent over his face, staring deep in her eyes.

Kairi felt extremely uncomfortable, his nose was almost touching hers. She was able to see her scared reflection in his blue orbs. Then, without any notice, she found herself pinned against the wall.

"Wha-What are you doing?"

Not replying, Tidus only continued to stare. Kairi began to blush. Finally, he let go of her.

"Odd. Sorry if I scared you."

He looked back at Kairi uncertainly and shook his head.

Wanting to get out, she limped out as fast as her leg could take it.

_Man, I'm gonna lose it._

Revised: 072509


	5. PE

**It's Kai, Not Kairi**

:PE:

Kairi trudged behind the others, the thought of anybody knowing her secret still lingering in her head.

A sudden breeze tousled her short hair while spreading the smell of fresh cut grass. For the first time that day, she felt slightly happy. She sighed and gently brushed a butterfly away.

"Role call, everyone" the teacher shouted out as soon as the students stepped onto the tracks.

Kairi looked up at the female teacher and brightened up. At least there were still girls on the campus. Her small happiness grew another millimeter.

As the teacher lined everyone up, Kairi looked around to memorize her classmates' faces, something she always did on the first day of school. Then she remembered that this was her first class of the first day of high school. Another millimeter of happiness.

She recognized some of them. Her heart sank as she her eyes met Tidus's. If anybody was to figure out her secret, he would be the first one. She let out a sigh of relief when she couldn't find Sora in her class.

"Narumi, Kai?"

Kairi timidly raised her hand and walked up to her spot behind Scott Nakamoto.

The teacher went through the N's and the O's and then finally arrived at the W's.

"Wataya, Sora?"

Kairi was almost able to feel the color drain from her face.

Nobody answered.

"He's not here," Tidus finally said.

"Who dorms with him? Did anybody see him today?"

Some of the kids looked at Kairi and made gestures with their eyes to tell the teacher.

Kairi cleared her throat and raised her hand.

"Oh, yes, Narumi?"

"Yeah, I saw him today. I think--" Kairi stopped as she spotted Sora walking across the field.

The teacher followed her gaze, saw Sora, and smiled.

"Late on your first day. Shame on you Mr. Wataya," she scolded while marking on her attendance sheet.

Sora didn't seem to care at all. He stood apart from the rest of the class, his eyes clouded.

Finally, the teacher dropped her clipboard next to her and smiled even wider. "I am your physical education teacher, Mrs. Suzumiya. I strongly believe as men, you should all lead a very healthy lifestyle. I am very excited to be your guide."

Her first-day-of-school speech was kept short and sweet. As soon as she finished, she demanded a lap around the track.

"Now, give me a lap!" she shouted. She blew her whistle.

"Hey, let's race! Whoever could beat Wataya will get ten bucks!" Kairi heard someone say. Shouts of agreement came from nearly everybody as they started to sprint around the large track field.

Soon, she found herself being the straggler. She didn't like to lose.

"Okay, Kairi. Who cares about your damn leg? Just run. Run!" She screamed to herself. With that, she let out a full sprint and outstripped everybody in front of her until only a handful of students were ahead of her. Sora was almost half a lap in front of the entire class. Feeling confident, she ran even faster. Soon, she found herself second, Sora in front of her.

"Almost there," Kairi muttered, wiping sweat from her brow. Her legs burning, she shut her eyes and ran even faster, leaning forward.

_Thud._

Kairi flipped her eyes open to found herself on her face. Sora was lying next to her, clenching the back of his shirt while wincing in pain.

"What happened?" Mrs. Suzumiya came running towards them. Kairi saw that she had crossed the white line indicating where to start and finish. She couldn't help smiling.

"Kai head butted me," answered, trying to get up but falling awkwardly.

Kairi stared at Sora, dazed. Everybody looked _purple. _As she tried to look at the teacher's face, black dots started to swarm around her vision, making it impossible to see. Soon, it covered her whole sight and swallowed her into darkness.

O

"Kai? Kai Narumi. You okay?" A worried voice found its way through Kairi's ear to rose her awake.

Kairi flipped her eyes open and immediately shielded them from the bright light.

Slowly, she opened one of her lavender eyes on squinted up at a huge grin. Like a Cheshire cat, a face gradually filled up and solidified the blur behind the grin.

"Riku?" Kairi stammered.

"Glad you could recognize me." The albino hair teen sat back down on a chair that was placed next to Kairi's bed.

"What happened to me?" Kairi asked as she hoisted herself up to lean against the wall behind her.

"I heard you blacked out. Do you have low blood pressure or something like that?" Itani asked, knitting his eyebrows in concern.

Kairi slapped her face with her hand. She had been careless. "Yeah, I do. That's probably the reason. I'm not supposed to go beyond my "safe pace." Kairi ended the last two words by marking invisible quotation marks in the air with her fingers.

"Not only that, your leg is in really bad shape." Riku added as he stood and walked over to a cabinet on the far side of the room.

Kairi threw off her covers and nearly blacked out again. Her leg was in the most disgusting shade of deep purple and green and twice the size it was supposed to be.

"Hey, heads up."

Kairi looked up and caught a little box just in time.

"Oh, nice catch." Riku smiled.

Kairi read the label on the box that was thrown at her. They were pain relievers.

"The nurse told me to give them to you once you've waken up," Riku explained when Kairi looked at him.

"Oh, thanks, Riku." She opened it and took out a metallic tray with little yellow pills. She popped out two and received the cup of water Riku handed her.

As soon as Kairi had swallowed the pills, Riku stood up and headed towards the door.

"Well, since you're up, I better get going now. See ya," Riku said as he swung the door open.

"Wait!" Kairi called out as soon as the door closed behind him. Riku pushed the door open a crack and poked his head inside.

"Yeah?"

"Um, I was wondering why people called you 'Captain'."

"Oh, that. I'm the captain of our school's blitz ball team. It's nothing really. It's better than Mr. President." He chuckled, and then gazed at her without saying anything.

After a heartbeat, he pushed the door fully open and reentered the room. Kairi looked up as he leaned over her. His cheek brushed against hers as he whispered, "Remember me?" Then he pulled back and left without another word.

Kairi froze. What did he mean? "Remember me?" It wasn't a full sentence. It wasn't even a sentence. It was a question.

Kairi's heart began to race. She frantically tried to think of what he meant. As she continued to kill her mind up with thoughts, somebody entered the small room. She looked up. It was Tidus.

"Hey. Saw the whole thing," he said as he took over the chair Riku had been sitting on.

"Saw what?" Kairi asked, completely confused.

"How you beat Sora! Don't you know? You beat the school record." Tidus articulated every word of the last sentence with slowly and carefully.

Kairi blinked. Given her current condition, she honestly didn't care. Instead, she asked, "Who carried me here?"

"Oh, Sora did."

Kairi's lavender eyes opened wide.

"Sora Wataya?" Kairi repeated.

"Yeah. Guess he felt sorry for you. You did look pretty sad, just lying there on the ground with your pathetically swollen leg. Why did you work so hard? You nearly broke your leg," Tidus scolded.

"Sorry," Kairi smiled sheepishly.

"Don't say sorry to me, man. It's not my leg that's been abused," Tidus said with a good-natured smile. "Well, glad you're alive. Just get yourself some sleep. You'll probably have to use crutches for a while," Tidus said as he started to get up.

"Thanks for the warning," Kairi said sarcastically.

Tidus looked at Kairi the same way he looked at her in the restroom. He walked closer to her and leaned forward. He was so close that Kairi's eyes became crossed and he became a blur.

What was with all these random violations of personal space today?

Kairi shut her eyes tightly and leaned away from him as far as she could. His warm breath filled her lungs.

After what seemed like an hour, Tidus backed away, taking his body heat with him. Kairi looked up to see that he was staring at her again. Then he shook his head slowly and left the room.

Kairi fell back on her pillow with a small 'oof'. Frustrated, she ran her hand through her auburn hair and looked up at the dusty ceiling.

"He knows. I'm positive. He knows," Kairi squeaked, pulling the covers up to her chin.

"Squall? I want to give up—give up and just _die._" She let out a long sigh and shifted onto her side, now granted a full view of the cabinet lined with all sorts of ointment and medicine.

"If I do die, I could be with you guys again," she added silently.

The sound of rubber shoes clunking on the tile floors followed the sound of the opening door as the school nurse walked towards Kairi's bed.

Simply put, he was gorgeous.

Kairi gazed at him as he walked towards her, smiling. His blonde hair was unprofessionally slanted at an odd angle as though he had fallen off a gummiship while his hair was still wet. His eyes looked friendly enough, but there was a hint of hardness behind them. He took out a flashlight from one of his various pockets on his long, white trench coat and flashed it in Kairi's eyes.

After turning it this way and that, he turned it back off and said, "You seem conscious again."

_No duh. _

"Wait here. I'll go get your crutches and you could go back to your dorm. Oh yeah, your leg is almost broken. We don't want it to get any worse, so I'll have to put a cast on that too." He opened a door Kairi didn't notice before and looked around. She leaned over to have a peek.

There were battered wheel chairs, unidentifiable metal contraptions, bandages, a stack of medicine magazines, a row of first-aid kits, and other dusty things jammed in there.

The nurse grunted as he tried to stop the stack of magazines from slipping off of the shelf and had to use his knee to keep the other wheel chairs in place. After battling the inhabitants of the closet, he managed to shut the door and rolled out one of the folded wheel chairs.

"I think the previous kid took the last pair of crutches. You'll have to use this for now," he said sympathetically and pushed the old thing next to Kairi's bed.

"I'll be back for you cast. Wait here."

O

Kairi groaned as she wheeled herself out of the small nurse's office. Although the nurse was cute, he was uncharacteristically clumsy and forgetful. What was supposed to take only ten minutes ended up taking two hours.

As Kairi wheeled herself loudly across the well-polished floor, Kairi looked up the long staircase. She had completely forgotten. Letting out a whimper, she began to let out a stream of curses at the nurse, the school's elevator, Sora, her dad, the wheelchair, and her hunger. She had skipped all three meals.

"Well, I'm not giving up! Just watch me," Kairi said coolly as though being challenged. The staircase loomed over her in silent response. She wheeled herself right next to it and tried to lean back in order to get the wheels up. Grunting with effort, she finally managed to get the first two wheels on the first step.

"Ok, a hundred million and ninety nine more steps to go," Kairi muttered. As she leaned back again, she suddenly felt the hairs of her neck stand up and her blood run cold.

"AHH!"

Kairi smashed backwards onto the floor. After gathering herself up, she stared up at her wheelchair. Its wheels were still rolling.

"I got thrown off!" She exclaimed.

Rolling her eyes, she wormed her way towards it, but it was too much for her tired body. Tears now flowing down her face, she turned on her back, looking up at the dim lit lights. By the looks of it, she was supposed to be back in her dorm.

"Stupid nurse. He probably forgot the elevator was broken," Kairi murmured as she used her arms as a pillow.

"What are you doing here?"

Kairi gasped and violently sat up, nearly knocking down the startled incomer. She tilted her head up to see the last person she wanted to meet on earth.

"Uh, hi," Kairi managed to say. She wanted run away, whether she was handicapped or not.

Sora lifted a brow. "Hey," he spared.

Taken aback, Kairi's attempt at keeping a cold face slipped, revealing her brief confusion. Her confusion only grew when Sora sat next to her on the tiles.

"You're wondering why I'm not mad."

Kairi didn't reply and only picked at her cast.

"I guess I overreacted," he said.

Was he apologizing?

"I shouldn't have assumed you were screaming about our," Sora hesitated. "accident," he finished.

Kairi tried to keep back the angry tears that started to well up again. She was being childish, she knew that. But he had hurt her.

Embarrassed, Kairi lifted her hand to wipe her eyes, but Sora grabbed her wrist. Kairi blinked in confusion. Before she knew it, he placed her hand behind his neck and scooped her up in his arms.

Kairi couldn't comprehend Sora's sudden change of mind, but didn't protest as he carried her up the stairs.

Revised: 072609


	6. Tidus Knows

**It's Kai, Not Kairi**

:Tidus Knows:

* * *

"You tired yet?"

"No."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"But you're so sweaty…"

"It cools me down."

"You've walked five floors straight. You sure you don't want to rest for a while?"

"Yes."

"Why don't you carry me on your back? It's much easier."

"Shut up."

Kairi stared up at Sora's face and knitted her brows.

"No need to get all sensitive. I'm only worrying about you."

"No, you're being annoying," Sora replied.

The two teens lapsed into silence while the brunet slowly climbed the stairs for two people. Kairi looked up again as she noticed Sora's breathing growing heavier and shorter. Suddenly, Sora's legs buckled as he started to wheeze and cough.

"Whoa, Sora!" Kairi exclaimed as she dug her fingers into the fabric of his shirt.

He collapsed onto the stairs with Kairi on top of him. She immediately rolled off his shaking body and frantically grabbed Sora by the shoulders.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" Kairi asked urgently.

Sora looked up from behind his dark bangs. His eyes, usually hiding whatever was behind them, were desperately pleading for help. He nodded and pointed to the small pocket of the book bag that slung over his shoulder. She dug her hand into its pocket and her fingers curled around a cold, hard object.

She pulled it out. It was an inhaler.

"You-you have _asthma_?" She exclaimed.

Sora snatched it away from her and stuck it in his mouth. The inhaler did its job and his breathing became slow and even. He let out a long sigh.

"Are you going to be okay? Should I call for help?"

Instead of answering, Sora leaned on Kairi's shoulder. Kairi stiffened.

"Just let me rest for a while, Kai," he managed to say.

Her lips dry, she gave a slight nod and looked at him from the corner of her eyes. His bangs were clumped together from sweat and matted to his forehead.

With a shaking hand, she slowly brushed it away from his face.

"Naminé." He smiled.

Kairi drew her hand away and leaned closer to his face to see if he had fallen asleep.

Without warning, he wrapped his arm around her neck and pulled her close into his chest.

Giving a quiet shriek, Kairi shut her eyes tight. His breath felt warm on her forehead.

"I'm sorry, Naminé," he mumbled, barely audible. "I didn't…mean to hurt you. Forgive me, Naminé…forgive me," Sora pleaded. He wrapped his arm around her and silently began to snore.

Kairi peeled open her eyes and gazed at him. She didn't care who or what this Naminé was. She cupped her hands on his cheeks and whispered, "I forgive you."

Whether he didn't want to answer or he couldn't hear her, Kairi didn't know. Sora replied with slow and even breaths, and his grip around Kairi loosened.

Sleep gradually began to settle around Kairi as well. She stifled a yawn before her head dropped onto Sora's.

O

Sunlight spilled in through the small windows along the walls like gold paint and splattered its rays upon the two that fell asleep on the stairs.

Kairi reluctantly opened her eyes and blinked the sleep out of them. For a second, she didn't know where she was until she felt something move under the side of her head.

Sora was still sleeping, his chest slowly rising and falling. Kairi couldn't help smiling. She never had been so close to a guy before.

"What the heck."

Kairi looked up. Tidus stared down at her, his eyes wide in shock.

"Wait, I could explain!" Kairi held her hands up in defense as if he were pointing a gun at her.

"Explain what? That you're gay?" He picked her up roughly.

"Or that you're a girl?" he hissed in her ear.

Kairi winced in pain and threw hateful looks at Tidus.

He hoisted her easily over his shoulder and stepped into the elevator he had just gotten off of before finding Kairi.

"They fixed it this morning," Tidus explained curtly.

Kairi struggled to get off of Tidus's shoulder but he held tight as the elevator doors closed behind them.

"Let me go," Kairi demanded while pounding her fists on Tidus's back.

"No, not until you tell me the truth."

The elevator gave a little 'ding' and the doors slid open. A rush of cold air embraced them as Tidus stepped out.

Finally, he threw Kairi on the ground and pinned her arms on the floor so she won't run away; not that she would be able to go far with one good leg. This was more of an intimidation factor.

"You _jerk._ Get off of me and let me go! I'm serious! I COULD HURT YOU!" Kairi breathed heavily and snapped her teeth at Tidus's arms, trying to find flesh to tear.

Ignoring her threats, the blonde lean closer to her and firmly pressed her down against the concrete floor.

"Tell me. Are you a girl?" he furrowed his brows.

Kairi squirmed but Tidus held her arms tighter.

"Tell me!" he bellowed.

Kairi stopped thrashing and grew limp in Tidus's grasp. After letting out a sigh of defeat, she threw him a defiant look. He returned her stare without flinching, forcing Kairi to look away. Her eyes stung as she tried her best to hold back her tears and she finally gave a small nod.

The fury in Tidus's eyes started dying down.

"Do you mind? You're sitting on my legs," Kairi said, breaking the silence.

"Sorry," he mumbled. Tidus slowly got up, not taking his eyes off of her.

"What are you doing here?" he asked slowly as though he was having a hard time figuring out what to say.

"What? You're the one that dragged me up here!"

"No. Here, in this private school. Why are you here?" Tidus pointed at the ground as he said 'here'.

"You don't have to know." Kairi struggled to get up but Tidus pushed her back down.

"If you don't tell me, I'm going to tell the whole school."

Brief disbelief turned to devilish threat as Tidus grinned mischievously.

Kairi scoffed folded her arms.

"Fine, I'll give you two choices. One," He lifted up a finger. "You tell me why you're here. Two," He lifted another finger. "You give me a kiss." He smirked and mirrored Kairi's crossed arms.

"I don't believe this guy." Kairi said to herself.

"Better believe it," Tidus retorted.

Kairi stayed quiet for a while, thinking it over. What's so bad about telling him the truth? It won't hurt anybody. But intuition got the better of her as it told her that it was wrong to tell anybody why she was here; why her brother died, why her mother died.

"Number two," Kairi finally said.

"What? Seriously?" Tidus said, dumbfounded.

"It's not your business to know why I'm here."

Kairi grabbed Tidus's collar to pull herself up in a sitting position and gave a quick peck on his forehead.

"I've done my part of the deal. Now you better take me downstairs," Kairi said.

Tidus scratched his head then grinned.

"You got me there, but not this time. If you want me to take you down, give me a real kiss." He smirked.

"No way, you pervert."

"Fine, guess you'll have to wait up here until your leg gets better." Tidus got up, stuck his hands in his pockets and marched towards the elevator.

"Wait! At least help me get up!" Kairi pleaded.

Tidus looked back and walked towards her. He helped Kairi up by grabbing her arm.

"Fine," Kairi said in defeat. "One real quick kiss."

She couldn't believe how childish this was.

Kairi tip-toed on her one good leg and grabbed Tidus's shoulder to keep herself steady.

"One quick kiss," Kairi repeated.

Tidus wrapped his arms around her waist, not replying to her statement.

She shut her eyes tightly as she inched closer and closer to his face. Closer. Closer. Closer.

Her lips met Tidus's finger. She opened her eyes in confusion.

"You're so gullible, Kai. I'm not desperate for a smooch." Tidus grinned.

"What the-"

Kairi turned her head towards the intruder and gasped. Sora was standing on the threshold of the elevator.

Equally shocked, Tidus pushed Kairi away from him, causing her to fall for the hundredth time.

"What were you guys doing?" Sora stepped out of the elevator and stared at both of them.

"I—"

"He was helping me up," Kairi interrupted.

Sora looked at Kairi's direction.

"What were you guys doing here in the first place?" Sora asked suspiciously.

Neither Kairi nor Tidus answered. Only the faint crashing of waves and crying of seagulls replied. Sora waited patiently for them to answer. Finally, Kairi made the first move by rolling her eyes.

"How should I know? Tidus woke me up and dragged me up here!" Kairi gestured to Sora to help her up.

"Let's go, we'll be late for breakfast," Kairi said quietly as she wrapped her arm around Sora's shoulder and limped towards the elevator.

Sora pressed the brass button indicating the fifth floor. An orange glow outlined the button and the two elevator doors started to close. Kairi managed to get a glimpse of Tidus, who stared back, hurt flashing across his face.

The elevator droned as it started to descend.

"Thanks."

Kairi looked up. Sora wasn't looking at her, but she was the only person he could have been talking to.

"For what?"

"Saving my life yesterday. I have asthma, but only the nurse and you know about it. It's been a while since I've had an attack like that. It occurs once every year or so."

Kairi couldn't believe it, but he trusted her. Only she and the nurse knew his secret.

"Let's be friends!"

Sora glanced at her, startled. She had stuck out her hand, apparently expecting him to shake it. Instead of accepting her offer, he chuckled.

"I think being roommates with you is enough," he responded. But his tone was light, friendly even. He smiled, now staring at the doors of the elevator, which reflected a blurred replica of him and Kairi.

Kairi smiled, embarrassed, and also stared at herself.

"You look fat," Sora pointed out as he looked at Kairi's reflection.

"Oh yeah? Your head looks fat."

"No, you're fat."

"You're fat!"

The two scowled at each other for a second, obviously criticizing their immaturity, then burst out laughing.

The elevator doors finally opened. Sora stepped out, but Kairi held back.

"I have to go get my wheelchair," Kairi explained.

"You think you could manage?" Sora asked.

Kairi nodded and smiled. She pressed an identical button to the first one except this one had the number '1' engraved on it. There was the familiar 'ding' and the doors shut.

She waited, leaning onto the silver railing of the elevator and humming out of tune.

The doors opened and she hopped out. Thankfully, the wheelchair was right where she had left it. Letting out a sigh of relief, she went over to it and picked it up to the right position. She gratefully sat on it and wheeled herself back in the elevator. The doors started to close.

"Wait!"

Kairi stuck out her arm and stopped the elevator from shutting. A rather disheveled looking student with orange hair ran in.

"Thanks."

Kairi nodded and smiled, "No problem."

The door opened and started to carry the two to the cafeteria floor.

"What happened to your leg?" the student asked casually.

"Oh, I wasn't supposed to run with it for a while. It didn't get dislocated or anything… it's just good precaution, I guess."

"Hmm, that's what happened to the guy that broke the school record," he said.

Kairi looked up at him.

"Really?" she asked, curious.

"Yeah, Kai Narumi. Man, he must've been really fast to have beaten Sora Wataya."

"But, that's m—"

The orange head was suddenly fired up as he kept going.

"Wish I could meet him and finish breaking off that leg of his," he said angrily, cracking his knuckles.

Kairi froze. What did she do?

"Thinks he's all that, breaking the school record. I've been training for three years! Three!" he shouted and pointed at Kairi as if it was her fault.

Kairi shrunk back in fear. The boy seemed to have realized his sudden outburst and flushed red.

"Err, sorry." He withdrew his finger from the air and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Oh, the name's Kyo Sohma by the way. Yours?" He asked.

Kairi grabbed the handles of her wheelchair, trembling.

"Um, uh. My name? It's, uh..."

_Ding_

Giving a silent thanks to the elevator, she wheeled herself out of the elevator as fast as she could.

"Weird people these days," Kyo muttered as he followed behind the short guy towards the cafeteria.

Kairi pushed the door open to the cafeteria and scanned the area. Long, dull, gray benches were in a neat row all the way to the end of the room. She went towards the long line that started to form and grabbed a red tray. She peered into the polished glass to see the breakfast choices.

"Oatmeal and waffles," a lady in a hairnet announced as she slid a bowl of steaming oatmeal and a plate of stacked waffles towards Kairi.

"Thank you," she said politely. She took the food carefully and piled it on her tray.

There was also a salad bar. She grabbed an apple and some milk and a plastic package of utensils.

As Kairi carefully maneuvered through the benches with only one free hand, many pairs of eyes glanced her way. Not knowing what was going on, she lowered her head and ignored them, choosing to sit on the edge of a bench on the back row.

"Hey, nice job beating the record." A boy sitting close by smiled.

"Yeah, you were awesome."

Other compliments followed after that. Kairi was too stunned to say anything. Why was it such a big deal? All this record stuff. At her old school, if somebody beat a record, they just got a pat in the back by their teacher. On top of that, she had only run a lap. It wasn't even a mile.

"Um, thanks," she said uncertainly.

Suddenly, her eyes fell on the boy she had met in the elevator. He was within hearing range.

"Hey Ka—"

"SHUT UP!" She tackled the boy right next to her and clasped his mouth with her hands, knocking over his food.

She quickly whispered, "I'm really sorry, it's just that I have a few, uh, enemies right now. So please don't say my name out loud!"

The boy obediently nodded his head and she carefully got back on her wheelchair. She started to stuff her mouth with oatmeal before anybody else could start talking to her.

All this attention was dangerous.

The rest of the day passed by without too much trouble. Though it was the second day of school, it still felt like the first due to her accident from the day before. Kairi was excused from PE, and biology was somewhat interesting. Algebra 2 proved to be difficult, the French teacher refused to use English, and the English teacher was a complete drama queen.

Kairi checked her list of schedules and read her next class out loud.

"History, room 705." She looked around. Luckily, it was right next to her.

She started towards it with some difficulty but suddenly had the liberty to roll without touching her wheels. She glanced behind her to see Tidus pushing her. Despite what had happened earlier, he was grinning from ear to ear.

"Thanks," Kairi muttered.

"No problem," Tidus replied.

"I think I can push myself from here," Kairi said as soon as they entered the class.

Tidus released her without protesting. Kairi wheeled herself to the edge of the class, near the windows. As she rummaged through her bag, something slammed in front of her.

"You couldn't get your history textbook yesterday," Sora explained.

Kairi fingered the edges of the book and smiled.

"Thanks."

But being the person he is, Sora had already walked back to his desk.

The bell rang and the lingering students hastily sat on their seats. The teacher came through the room. It was another female teacher.

"Welcome! We are going to learn history today, just like yesterday! And we're going to learn history tomorrow! And the day after that! And the day after that! So hope you guys have your thinking caps on because we're going to learn a lot of new things!" She was practically jumping up and down.

The rest of the period went on like this. Kairi couldn't concentrate due to the amount of tension (mostly self-created) going through Tidus, Sora, and herself. The teacher didn't help with her unnecessary enthusiasm either.

Kairi glanced at the two boys every once in a while. Sora was mainly looking out the window and Tidus was chucking pieces of erasers at the people in front of him. Typical.

Finally, the bell rang and everybody squeezed their way through the door, including the teacher because she had "a very important meeting to attend," leaving Sora and Kairi alone.


	7. The Bathhouse

**>>It's Kai, Not Kairi**

:Bathhouse:

**Author's Notes:** This chapter is pretty much pointless. Oh yeah, I edited this one, too. I KNEW I SPELLED AERITH WRONG! It didn't look right when I spelled it, but it was late at night and all. So if you already read this chapter, no need to read it again. Thank you! Oh yeah, and if you happen to get a chapter 8, it was all a mix up. Something wrong with the other computer when updating. PLEASE FORGIVE ME!

* * *

Kairi neatly stuffed her things in her book bag. She slowly got up and sat on her wheel chair, keeping a close eye on Sora. 

He looked so lonely all of a sudden, as if his very last friend left this world. Kairi couldn't believe she never noticed this before. She wanted to hug him so bad, try to cheer him up and make him feel better, but she restrained herself. Clearing her throat, she pushed the big wheels on the side and stopped a few feet away from Sora.

He was completely oblivious to the fact that class was over. His eyes were the usual cloudy, boring, deep-in-thought eyes, still staring out the window.

"Um, Sora?" Kairi finally said.

Sora looked back.

"Hmm?"

"Um, class is over." She explained.

"Oh. Ok, thanks." He got up stiffly and absent-mindedly started to jam everything in his book bag.

"Sora!" Kairi jumped out of her wheel chair, her eyes brimmed with tears.

"What?" Sora raised a brow.

"How could you be so cruel!" Kairi cried.

"To what?" Sora asked, now throwing in his pencils in his extra pockets.

"AHH!" She grabbed his hand and his book bag.

"You have to take care of you school stuff like they're your children! Do you know how hard people work for our education! Like this book! LOOK AT THAT! Why did you write all over it!"

"Notes." Sora said blankly.

Kairi ignored him.

"BOOKS ARE FOR READING! R-E-A-D-I-N-G! NOT WRITING! YOU DO THAT ON PAPER! Poor beautiful trees. Germinating for years to land up as toilet paper." Kairi sniffled.

Kairi started to take the rest of Sora's things out.

"What's this?" Kairi asked herself curiously as she took out a folder. Sora didn't seem to mind so she opened it. She let out a small gasp.

"Drawings? YOU WASTE PAPER ON DRAW-" Kairi trailed off as she looked at the sketches closer. They were drawings of school and Destiny Islands.

"Wow. They're, they're really good." She said as she flipped through the very detailed drawings.

"Who's this?" Kairi asked.

Sora bent over to see what she was pointing at and then looked away.

"Is, is she your girlfriend?" Kairi smiled.

Sora didn't answer.

"She is, isn't she? OOOOOh, you're a lady's man. Ah ha ha." Kairi started to laugh.

She continued to skim through the countless black and gray. Her eyes widened and sparkled as she saw a sketch of the brunette standing in front of her. It seemed like somebody else drew this one; it was better than the drawings Sora did, if that was possible. The black and white Sora was smiling with his arm around somebody's shoulder, looking away from the person who drew the sketch.

"Who drew this one?" Kairi asked again, tugging Sora's sleeve without looking up.

Sora ran his hand through his hair, looking uncomfortable.

"I don't really wanna talk about this." Sora reached down and grabbed the folder of drawings away from Kairi.

"Let's go. Gotta go eat. See ya."

Sora pushed past her and stuffed everything in his book bag again. He walked out the open door and closed it behind him.

Kairi didn't feel like eating dinner that evening.

"Stupid nurse. Think I'll go see if he has the crutches yet." Kairi thought.

Kairi shook her head and went for the elevator. She quietly waited, which was unusual of her, until the elevator doors opened. Somebody was already in there.

"Sorry," Kairi apologized as she crammed her wheel chair in.

"No problem."

Kairi looked up. It was Tidus. She groaned.

"What? Am I that ugly?" He joked.

"Yes. You are." Kairi replied.

"Aw, come on, Kairi." Tidus pouted.

"That reminds me." Kairi turned in her wheel chair to directly face Tidus.

"How did you find out I was a girl?"

Tidus chuckled.

"Because. It's so obvious; I'm surprised nobody else noticed. First, you face shape. Women's foreheads are rounder than men's are and their jaws are smoother. Second, your height. You're way too short to be a fourteen-year-old guy. Third, the bathroom incident. I don't think I have to explain that. And last of all, it was me who carried you to the nurse." Tidus explained.

"What does the last one have to do with anything!" Kairi shouted.

"I carried you on my back."

"So?"

Tidus started to fake cough. He glanced at Kairi for a while and then blushed.

"What!"

"Ehem." He slightly did a hand motion with curves.

"Huh? Oh… YOU PERVERT! YOU SICK OLD PERVERT! PERVERT! PERVERT!" Kairi started to slap Tidus's head.

"What! How do you think I would've known you weren't a guy?" Tidus asked as he shielded his face with his arms.

"Still! PERVERT! But wait, why did you say Sora carried me instead?" Kairi asked suspiciously.

"Because. I didn't want you to know I carried you so you wouldn't suspect me knowing." He said it so casually.

"Oh. I see." Kairi nodded approvingly.

"BUT STILL! YOU PERVERT!" Kairi couldn't help laughing as she continued to slap him on the head.

Finally, the elevator stopped and opened at floor seven.

Relieved, Tidus ran out, rubbing his head, but stopped and turned back.

"Oh yeah, my room number is 101. For future reference." Tidus winked at Kairi and jogged towards the long hallway.

Kairi rolled her eyes and waited for the doors to close again.

Kairi smiled as she fell back on her bed.

"YAY! Bed. I love you bed." She hugged her pillow.

"You alright?" Sora asked without looking up from his usual routine of looking at the school newspaper.

"Oh, better than alright."

"You know, you really smell. You should take a shower or something." Sora said casually in his usual boring voice. He seemed to have lightened up.

"What? I do not!" Kairi angrily sat up from her covers.

"Yeah you do. It's been what, three days and you've fallen dozens of times in who knows what. Go, take a shower." He scolded.

"But. The water, it's all cold, isn't it?" Kairi quickly made an excuse.

"Then go to the public one across the street somewhere." He folded the newspaper up and also lied back on his bed, now staring up at the ceiling.

"Fine then. See ya. I'll be back smelling like soap." Kairi reluctantly crawled off her bed and hopped on one foot to her folded wheelchair.

She pulled on the handles to unfold it, but it seemed to be stuck. Confused, she pulled harder but she only ended up breaking off the handle.

"AHH!" Frustrated, she picked up the whole thing and threw it across the room.

Staring, Kairi let out a silent gasp.

"SORA!"

"I'M FINE! JUST GET OUT OF HERE!" Sora bellowed, pushing the broken wheelchair off his bed and rubbing his head.

"But, how do I go take a bath?" Kairi sulked.

Sora looked like he just realized this too. Rolling his eyes, he got off his bed, dragging the wheelchair behind him and bent down next to Kairi.

"Get on my back." Sora muttered.

"I carried you on my back."

"So?"

Kairi gulped. "Um, could you just carry me instead?"

"What! Dragging this thing too? No way. Just get on my back."

"Um, uh. I gotta go." Kairi quickly grabbed the wheelchair and hopped to the elevator, pressing the button rapidly.

"BYE!" Kairi shouted.

"That was close." Kairi said under her breath.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Kairi knocked one the door of the nurse's office.

"Coming!" a muffled voice called out.

The door opened and the nurse poked his head out.

"Hey there, Kai Narumi."

"Hi. Um, I was wondering if you have my crutches yet." Kairi said.

The nurse gave her a blank look.

Kairi rolled her eyes.

"Mr. Cloud. My crutches. For my broken leg." Kairi pointed to her cast.

"Oh yes. Yes. Oh, but you could take that off now. You only had to wear it for one night." The nurse came over to her and helped her up a seat.

"What! All this time, I could've taken it off!"

"No. I could've taken it off, not you. You don't have the right tools." The nurse said.

Kairi rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Could you please take it off right now?" Kairi asked.

"Of course I could. But would I? I do not know."

"WOULD you so kindly take this cast off my leg _please_?" Kairi asked desperately.

"Laugh out loud. Sure. So fun messing with kids. Stay here, I'll get the razor thingy." The nurse left and came back with a small circle razor thing.

"This won't hurt a bit. Now, hold still." He turned the razor on and slit the cast. It broke into two and Kairi was able to feel the air around her sweaty leg again.

"Thank God." Kairi closed her eyes in relief.

"What about me?"

"Thank you Cloud." Kairi said in a sweet little voice.

"You're welcome Kairi." Cloud placed the razor on a stand and sat next to her.

"You know, I bet Squall would be very proud of you right now."

Kairi turned to face the nurse. "You think so?"

"Course. Squall, such a waste. Sad he had to go like that." Cloud's usually friendly eyes filled with depression.

"Yeah. Well, thanks Cloud. Oh yeah, you're really a good actor." Kairi smiled.

"Well, so are you. It's amazing how you didn't react when she you saw where I work." Cloud returned her smile and ruffled her hair.

"Ok the, bye." Cloud waved good-bye and left to his office.

"Thanks, bye." Kairi left the room, gratefully walking on her leg again.

Kairi walked out of the school. She looked around for the public bath as the wind whipped her face with her hair.

"How am I going to pull this off?" Kairi bit her bottom lip.

"I can't wear swimming shorts…and I a surfer's will be too tight. Stupid. Damn. WHY DON'T YOU JUST KILL ME RIGHT NOW!" Kairi shook her fist angrily at the half-hidden sun. Her anger subsided and she sighed. She let out a deep breath and walked up and down the street looking for the bathhouse.

The street was quiet and there weren't many cars because it was such a small island. Kairi smiled as she saw the little building with the little sign that looked like a circle with steam coming out of it, but frowned when she realized she still didn't think of a plan.

"Here goes nothing." She closed her eyes and pushed open the two doors.

"Good afternoon, young lady. How may I help you?" Asked a young woman with big dark brown bangs and a pink dress.

Kairi, shocked, didn't say anything.

"Um, miss? How may I help you?" She asked again.

Kairi burst out laughing. It never once occurred to her that anybody could recognize her as a girl.

"I LOVE YOU!" She hugged the lady around the middle.

"What the-?" The lady took a step back.

"Oh, sorry." Kairi wiped a tear away from her face, still giggling.

"Ok…um, sorry. No, uh, bisexuals in here." She said uncertainly as she pointed to a sign.

Kairi read what she was pointing at. Clearly, it said:

We do not accept any bisexuals.

We apologize for any inconvenience.

Kairi turned back to face the lady in the pink dress.

"What does that have to do with me?" She asked, utterly confused.

"You're, you're not a lesbian?"

"HECK NO! DO I LOOK LIKE A LES TO YOU? DO I? DO I!" Kairi frantically looked around like a mad man. She ran over to a flowerpot and smashed it. She grabbed a piece and held it to her neck.

"I, Kairi Narumi, daughter of the town mayor, shall commit suicide on this day, September 14, 2002." Kairi announced as tears ran down her face.

"NO! Don't do that!" The bathhouse lady ran over to her and grabbed the shard of pottery away from her.

"It's just, I thought, you know, I thought that you were, uh, lesbian cause you announced your love to me." The lady stammered and blushed out of embarrassment.

"What? I just said that cause I was so happy you recognized me as a girl! I didn't think I had to spell it out for you." Kairi said crossly.

"Of course I recognized you as a girl." The lady said blankly.

" Ah well, forget what I said. I wanna take a bath." Kairi said.

"Sure. Go through that green door over there and on the right is the bath. Want a towel and a robe?"

"Sure. How much is it?" Kairi asked as she dug into her pocket for her wallet.

"No, it's ok. For my apologies, I'll let you go in free today." She smiled and handed Kairi a towel and a robe.

"Really? Thanks! What's your name anyway?"

"Me? Oh, it's Aerith. Or Aeris, whatever is comfortable."

Kairi's eyes widened.

"YOU'RE AERITH!" Kairi exclaimed, pointing Aerith as if she was an animal at the zoo.

"Um, yeah."

"You're Cloud's girlfriend, aren't you?" Kairi smirked.

"Huh? You know Cloud?"

"Sure I do. He was my brother's friend." Kairi got that cold feeling every time she thought of her brother.

"Was?"

Kairi looked up. "Oh, my brother died a few years ago. Well, better go take my bath."

She quickly wiped away a single tear and went through the green door like Aerith said.

Kairi sighed as she dipped herself in the warm water. It felt so good.

"Ahh." She closed her eyes and sank deeper into the bath.

After the long bath, Kairi stepped out into the darkening night. She walked along the street, her wet hair clinging onto her head like leeches and making her shiver.

Kairi ran as soon as she saw the school. She went through the gates and walked up to the doors inside the school.

"ID card please."

It was one of those computer voices.

"ID card?" Kairi thought.

"ID card, ID card…OH MY DOG! NOO! I LEFT IT IN THE BATHROOM! THE BATHROOM!" Kairi frantically dug through her pocket even though she clearly knew the ID card was still somewhere in the school's bathroom.

"ID card please." The voice said again as Kairi pulled on the handlebars.

Kairi sniffled.

"Guess I can't sleep in there tonight." Kairi said to herself miserably as she curled herself into a ball next to the doors.

"Poor me. Poor pathetic me." Kairi sobbed.

Soon, the lights on the streets were turning on and the crickets were starting to chirp.

"Poor little me. Poor crickets. Poor me." Kairi shivered.

Bang.

"Ow!" Kairi rubbed her head and looked up to two sapphire eyes.

"SORA!" She sobbed and hugged his leg.

"What the heck are you doing out here like that?" Sora cocked his head to one side.

"ID card. Didn't have. The doors are EVIL! EVIL I TELL YA LAD! EVIL!" Kairi pulled on her hair and pointed at the doors.

"You don't need you ID card. That's only for night. All you had to do was push." Sora said as he pushed the door. "And you don't have to get so over dramatic."

"What? But, why did it say-"

"It's broken. Almost everything is broken here. Come on."

"Oh, ok." Kairi smiled and got up, skipping behind Sora.

"I bet you're dirty again."

**Stella's Ultra Boring Page 2**

**manga style**

Cloud: He was supposed to be just an extra character, but I decided it'll be cool to make him know Kairi.

Aerith: Just popped into my head.

The deal with Sora about the drawings: You'll find out in the next or the one after that chapter.

That's all. Yup, boring.


	8. Being Lonely

**>>It's Kai, Not Kairi**

:Being Lonely:

**Author's Notes:** Sorry I couldn't update any faster. But from now on, it's going to be harder to update with school and the virus getting in the way. But thank you so much for the nice reviews!

I do not own the idea of Kairi going to an all guy's school and Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, or Disney. To help the writer who had the idea of a girl going to an all guy's school, please read the manga **Girl Got Game **(Tokyo Pop). Somehow, this what I just wrote does't make any sense at all...but hope you understood it.

* * *

"Whee!" Kairi ran over to her bed and jumped on it.

"It's okay, pillow. I'll make you all warm again." Kairi rubbed her face on the pillow.

Sora closed the door of their dorm behind him and rolled his eyes.

"Grow up, would you?" He walked over to the far side of the room where his bed was lying, all neat and tidy.

"I am growing up. You never stop growing, you know. Even old people, but that's where death comes in." Kairi said annoyingly.

"Stop your babbling and turn off the lights." Sora mumbled as he slid under his covers and turned off the lamp on his side.

Kairi glanced at the digital watch. The glowing green numbers read '7:58'.

"What! It's only eight! Don't tell me you sleep this early!" Kairi exclaimed.

"Ok, I won't."

"Don't get smart with me! Let's do something! Like, run on the roof and scream at the cars! You know, something fun!" Kairi hugged her pillow tighter.

"No. I need to get my eleven hours. Now sleep. I usually sleep right after dinner so I'm really sleepy."

"You have no life." Kairi insulted.

"Thank you, now I am your equal." Sora said sarcastically.

"You big fat meanie head! Stupid lowlife person thing." Kairi mumbled on and on.

Sora didn't say anything. Giving up, she let out a breath of defeat.

"Fine! Be that way." Kairi pouted, switched off the lights, and went under her covers.

Kairi lazily picked at a string hanging from the covers, thinking.

"Why was Sora out if he usually slept at eight?" Kairi asked herself. Then, it hit her.

"Ah ha ha. He was worried about me!" Kairi started to giggle like she was crazy.

Grinning, she turned towards her roommate.

"Thanks Sora. You're awesome."

"Thank you, now just shut up and go to sleep." Sora answered.

Kairi's eyes widened.

"I thought, I thought you were asleep!" Kairi flushed.

"I was. Your stupid voice woke me up." Sora said angrily.

"That's it. I'm outta here." Kairi angrily threw her pillow at Sora and ran out before he could realize what happened.

As Kairi walked along the hall, she was able to hear people talking and laughing together. It was strange. She couldn't recall the last time she laughed and talked with her friends. Or rather, friend. That's when she realized Selphie was her only friend. She didn't know she was such a lonely person. Kairi quickly brushed aside this lonely feeling and walked on.

Kairi looked up and saw that her feet carried her to the elevator.

"I'll just hang out on the roof." Kairi said to herself as she pressed the button and stepped in the open elevator and waited until the doors opened again.

Kairi walked out into the chilly night again. Her hair was still a bit damp so she started to shiver a bit. She ignored the cold and walked towards the edge of the building, only to find somebody already there. Scowling, she was about to say some mean stuff to him until she realized it was Riku. She smiled and walked over to him.

"Oh, hey Kai." Riku returned her smile.

"Hi. What are you doing here?" Kairi asked as she leaned on the cold, metal railing.

"I like to come up here sometimes. You know, peace and quiet. You?"

Kairi rolled her eyes. "My stupid roommate."

Riku smirked. "Sora wasn't always like that."

Kairi cocked her head. "What do you mean?"

"He changed. Something happened between him and his girlfriend. He started to get annoyed easily and spaced out a lot. Before that incident, he use to always smile and goof around." Riku said.

Kairi's eyes widened. Now that she thought about it, she never seen Sora really smile before.

"I understand now. I know how it feels to lose people. It happened to me twice." Kairi cupped her hands on her cheeks and looked out at the blurs of light out in the distance.

"I'm sorry."

"No, it's nothing to be sorry about. It's all in the past. But I think Sora should try harder to be who he really is. It's difficult at first, but after a while, you realize there's a whole life in front of you and you should enjoy it." Kairi paused for second, then asked, "Have you ever lost somebody?"

Riku was quiet for a while, not looking at Kairi. Finally, he licked his lips and opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

"You don't have to talk about it. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable." Kairi said quickly.

"No, it's not that. The answer is yes and no. They're still living, but they don't know me anymore. They think me as another person living on this island." Riku said slowly as if he didn't know how to put it.

Kairi gave him a blank stare. "What do you mean?"

"Let me explain this way. It's like a candle in the dark. If it's lit, you know where it is and you cherish it and never want to let it go. But if somebody blows that lit candle out, you're swallowed in darkness again. The candle is still there, but nobody will know. I'm that candle in my friends' memories."

Kairi gasped. "Are you saying that your friends forgot about you!"

Riku gave a slight nod.

"But how could they! That's so mean!" Kairi said angrily.

Riku gave a weary smile. "It wasn't their fault. They didn't forget on purpose. But, it's ok. But sometimes, it's really heart breaking to talk to them. They talk to me as if they didn't know me their whole life."

"I wonder how that feels. But if I was one of your friends that lost his or her memory, I wouldn't lose my memory no matter what!" Kairi smiled.

_It's really hard. So very, very hard to talk to you._

Riku forced back his tears and didn't say anything.

"How were your friends like?" Kairi asked, not noticing.

Riku glanced at Kairi and began to look up at the star speckled sky, smiling.

"One was a total goof ball with a big ego and the other was a complete drama queen. But they were great."

"So two. Two of your best friends forgot about you." Kairi sniffled.

"What—. Are you crying! Don't cry!" Riku poked Kairi's head, which was buried in her arms.

"That's it. TELL ME THE NAMES OF YOUR FRIENDS RIGHT NOW! I'LL GO YELL AT THEM FOR YOU!" Kairi wiped her tears and started to roll up her sleeves.

"I don't think I could do that, Kai. Sorry."

"Aww, come on! Not even their names!"

"Nope. Well, I gotta go now. G'night." Riku hastily got up and started towards the stairs.

"Good night. Nice talking to you."  
-----------------  
Sora woke up first, as usual, and opened up the blinds.

"Wow, it's cloudy today." He muttered to himself. It was only November and it started to drizzle now and then.

He walked towards his sleeping roommate and started to shake her.

"Wake up Kai." Sora grumbled.

"Blah." Kairi turned towards the wall.

"Kai, wake up." Sora said a bit louder.

"Yeah, that pink one!" Kairi shouted in her sleep, her eyes shut tight.

"Dude, Kai, wake up!" Sora threw Kairi's blanket off of her and started to hit her with his pillow.

"Moron, idiot, girly man, stupid, stupid, stupid, more stupid!"

Kairi merely scratched her head.

Sora finally gave up and stared at Kairi for a while. Then he yelled, "Fire! Fire! Wake up Kai! It's F-I-R-E!"

Kairi's eyes flipped open and sat up.

"Fire! Where! AHH! I'M BURNING! Sora! Save yourself! Don't worry about me!" Kairi ran to the corner of the room and curled up into a ball.

"You idiot. You're really gullible. Now hurry up, it's already seven." Sora grabbed his backpack and started to put on his shoes.

"Huh? What? Where's the fire? Sora, did you trick me?" Kairi asked Sora, poking his shoulder.

"No, the fire magically disappeared."

"Aww, I knew you would never lie to me." Kairi smiled and hugged Sora in a drunken style.

"Man, it seems like you're some kind of a drunk. Get away, you're breath smells." Sora made a disgusted face and pushed Kairi away.

"I'm going back to bed. Good night. Wake me up when it's time to go to school." Kairi climbed back on her bed and was asleep in no time.

Sora waited a few seconds and then patted Kairi on the shoulder.

"Hey, Kai. It's time for school." Sora said, exhausted.

"IT IS! Oh, my gosh! I'm gonna be late! It's already past seven!" Kairi quickly began to pull up her pants over her pajamas and threw over her school jacket.

"Why didn't you wake me up sooner! You stupid head. It's always your fault I'm late.

"Oh yeah, It's my fault you're always late. I should've tried harder to convince you to do your homework on time so you don't have to sleep past midnight everyday. Yeah, it's all my fault," Sora said moodily.

"Stop being so sarcastic." Kairi started to pull on her shoes.

"Hey, aren't you going to wash?" Sora asked, shocked.

"Whatever. I don't really care about living anymore. I mean, come on! I'm a guy! Sometimes, I wish I was a girl again." Kairi sighed.

"Again!" Sora's eyes widened.

"NO! I mean, I want to see my girl again. That's why I'm so depressed yeah." Kairi stammered.

"You have a girl." Sora repeated.

" Yeah! Um, her name, her name is uh, Selphie! She's the best. Let's get going, shall we?" Kairi walked towards the door, smiling.

"Somehow, it's really hard to imagine you with a girl." Sora said as the two went towards the cafeteria.

"Whatever. Hey, isn't that Tidus?" Kairi said suddenly as she pointed at a boy screaming his head off.

Sora looked up. "Beats me. I don't care about that bastard. He's a pain in the butt. Gonna go eat."

"Woot! NO SCHOOL FOR A WEEK, BABY!" Tidus ran over to Kairi and gave her a noogie.

"What? Huh? No school?" Kairi asked, utterly confused.

"Yeah! It's Thanksgiving break! After today, no school until next Monday! Yeah!" Tidus punched the air and ran over to other kids and repeated what he said to Kairi.

"No school? NO SCHOOL! Yay! No Mccord, no history, no homework!" Kairi shouted and started to run along with Tidus.

"Shut up, ya?" Wakka said in his funny accent as he grabbed both Kairi and Tidus by their shirt collars.

"Plus, you still have homework during break."

"Thanks for ruining it Wakka." Kairi muttered.

"No problem. Now stay quiet and just go to class, ya?" Wakka smiled his good-natured smile and gave them both a slight push.

Kairi looked up at the big clock behind Mrs. McCord's head. This is what she was doing in every single class. She had piles of work to do during the break. The teachers all gave them time to start on it during the class, but Kairi being a big procrastinator, didn't bother.

"3, 2, 1—" Kairi held her breath.

_Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep_

The usual sounds of rustling paper and screeching chairs were heard. Everybody was squeezing through the door, shouting. Kairi, who is usually the first one out, skipped over to Sora instead.

His head was bent low, his pencil scribbling on the essay McCord had told them to do.

"Hey Sora. Let's go somewhere today! I know! I'll buy us udon! What do you say, huh buddy?" Kairi nudged Sora with her elbow.

"Sorry, can't. Gotta do my homework."

"What a lame excuse! You have a whole week! It's not like you're gonna die. C'mon, Sky!"

"Don't call me that." Sora said angrily.

"What, Sky? Why not? It's the same thing as Sora. Sky, Sky, Sky." Kairi teased.

"Go by yourself. I'm leaving." Sora grabbed his essay and his backpack and pushed past Kairi.

"You're unbelievable." Kairi angrily grabbed her backpack as welland followed after Sorathrough the door.

Kairi walked along the crowded streets of the town center. She failed in convincing Sora to come along. Actually, she wanted Sora to come so shewouldn't get lost.The island was pretty small, but it was easy to get lost.

"Stupid Sora. Stupid Sora." Kairi repeated over and over again as she usually did things when she needed to vent. She didn't know where she was exactly going.

After walking up and down the streets, she stopped to catch her breath. She looked at her watch and realized it was already six.

The days were shorter now and the sky was already starting to darken. The clouds covered the sun, only letting scraps of light through.

"I couldn't even eat udon!" Kairi stomped her feet. But she knew it was no time to complain. The sky was getting darker by the second and it looked like it was going to rain soon.

Kairi looked around where she was. The shops and street names were all unfamiliar.

"Great, I'm lost." Kairi muttered.

There weren't any people around so Kairi couldn't ask for directions. If she did find somebody, they brushed her a side.

After failing to find a street she would recognize, Kairi sat on the sidewalk, beat. That's when the rain slowly started to fall.

"It's not that bad." Kairi reassured herself. She could wait until it was over and continue searching for her school.

But the rain kept falling harder and harder until Kairi had to go under a bridge over the street. As she sat by herself, thinking the warmness of home, she heard footsteps behind her.

"Narumi?"

Kairi turned around, overjoyed. But this feeling disappeared when she realized it was the junior she met a few months ago. Kyo Sohma.

"Um, Narumi? I don't think he's here." Kairi stumbled as she backed away from the boy who kept coming closer and closer.

"Quit your whining, Narumi! I know who you are." He violently grabbed Kairi by her shirt.

Kairi looked up into eyes almost red behind the dripping, wet hair.

"I was going to take it easy on you because you were so small, but to think you lied. You're a coward, you know that?" He punched Kairi's right cheek.

"Please, I didn't mean to. I was just scared!" Kairi rubbed her cheek and tried hard not to cry.

"Scared? This whole world is scary. Guys!"

Kairi looked past Kyo's shoulder and saw that there were two others. One of them was the one that beat her up on the first day of school.

Kyo pushed Kairi and she fell in the mud. The others started to kick her stomach and her head.

Kairi was too shocked and hurt to say anything.

"Please—"

"SHUT UP!"

Kairi kept quiet while the three continued to kick and punch her. Every time she would open her mouth or let out a cry of pain, they would only kick her harder. Her lips were practically bleeding from trying to keep her mouth shut.

Kairi looked at the street lamps with her bruised eye. They seemed so peaceful and welcoming. She wanted the pain to stop. She heard of kids dying from gangs but she didn't think she'd ever die by being beat up by a couple of school kids.

Kairi closed her eyes. Her body felt numb, it didn't seem like she was being hit anymore. She was able to hear the soft thump whenever they hit her, but she couldn't feel it. The pain. It was gone.

"Hey."

Kairi opened her eyes. That voice. That voice was so familiar.

"I think you're over doing it." The voice was nearer now.

The three high school boys stopped and stared at the figure in the shadows.

"You think beating up a guy who's half your size is cool!" The figure stepped out into the light.

Kairi heard something like steel rubbing against metal.

"Dude, Wataya. You're not suppose to use that!" Kyo stammered.

"So don't make me use it." Sora said coolly.

"Sohma, it's not worth it. Let's go!" The other boys already started to back away from Kairi.

"But, guys! We made a pledge!" Kyo shouted at them.

"So?"

"A pledge? How lame." Sora sneered.

Kyo glared at Sora for a while, then finally backed away.

There was a small burst of light from Sora's palm and the thing he was holding disappeared.

That was the last thing Kairi saw that night as she used her last bit of strength to let out a sigh of relief.

Until he was sure the others were gone, Sora stayed where he was standing. Finally, he was reassured that they had gone back to school and ran over to his roommate.

"Kai. Could you walk?"

Kairi didn't answer. Her eyes were closed and her cheeks were stained by her trail of tears mixed with bits of blood.

The rain was falling harder and harder. Nobody would've been able to see the brunette holding somebody on his back and trudging through the puddles and mud, but he was out there.

Sora knew the island well. He lived his whole life on the tiny scrap of land. He didn't have to see where he was going, it would've made no difference if he did anyway. The rain blocked out everything; sound, scent, and sight.

Finally, the eight stories building came up. Not stopping, Sora went in and up the elevator.

Sora breathed hard as he opened up the door to his room, his other hand holding on to Kairi.

He kicked open the door and fell back on to the nearest bed, which was Kairi's.

Sora didn't want to get up. He wanted to lie down on the bed forever until he rot. That's when he realized his head was lying on Kairi's stomach. Moaning, he got up, rubbing his back.

He looked down at Kairi.

_He looks even more like a girl when he's asleep._

Sora shook his head.

"What the heck am I thinking?"

He started to peel off his wet clothes and threw on some dry ones. He looked down at Kairi.

Sora ran his hand through his clumped, wet hair, frustrated.

Half of him told him he had to change Kai's clothes, but the other half told him that it was yaoi.

Finally, for the sake of Kai's health, he started to unbutton the three buttons of the school uniform...

**Stella's Ultra Boring Page**

**manga style**

For those who don't know what udon is, it's a japanese dish. Well, not dish but noodle. Really really good.

Kyo Sohma: Yes, from Fruits Basket but not the same person. Same name, different people.

In my opinion, this chapter went by too fast. I'm not detailed enough. So...I'M VERY VERY SORRY! I would've made it longer, but I wanted to end it right there.

Cliff hanger. Yay! Will Sora find out? Or will Kairi wake up just in time? I can not say.


	9. Suspicious

**>>It's Kai, Not Kairi**

:Suspicious:

**Author's notes: **First of all, patience. Kairi in this story is, indeed, very out of character. Someday or some month, you will see why. I sound like some sage...anyways. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS! They are most appreciated.

* * *

Sora stifled a yawn as he clumsily unbottoned the plastic buttons on Kairi's collar shirt. Then, he grabbed the wet shirt and pulled it off her head. 

"What the-" Sora stared down at the white ribbon that bounded his roommate's chest.

_He must be hurt or something._

Sora slowly reached over and felt the bottom of the ribbon to see if it was also wet. It was, so he decided to take it off as well.

"You owe me, Kai." He grumbled.

He made Kairi lean on his shoulder as he took off the pin on her back.

It seemed awkward somehow, but Sora finally managed to take off the ribbon and pushed Kairi back on the bed. She was fully exposed.

The brunette's color in is face drained out and his mouth opened and closed as if he didn't have enough air.The ribbon slowly slid away from his fingers. There was that shocking silence for a minute or so.

"AHH! Ok, do not panic. Do not panic." Sora looked away from the surprising scene and grabbed his blanket and threw it over Kairi's body.

Sora crouched down on the carpeted floor and grabbed his wet, spiky hair, rocking back and forth. His left eye was twitching like it usually did when he was frustrated or disgusted.

"He, no, SHE.But, she was ahe. What's wrong with,I mean. It can't be. No." Sora sat up straight.

"She's gonna think I was a gay pervert! What to do." Sora glanced at Kairi then quickly went back to rocking back and forth.

"She can't find out about this. No, she can't." Sora quickly grabbed the ribbon and the shirt he worked so hard to take off and started to put it back on his roommate...

It was hard to put clothes on an opposite gender, but it was harder to stay awake. Finally, he shakily buttoned the buttons and lied down, his heavy eye lids slowly covering his sapphire eyes.

The rain battered on the window as if it was deliberately trying to wake up the two sleeping teens. Sora blinked open his eyes and looked around, confused. He wasn't in his bed.

Something started to move next to him. His eyes widened as he saw Kairi's sleeping face poke out beneath the covers.

"Oh my gosh." Sora whispered to himself.

Sora didn't realize he had fallen asleep on Kairi's bed. A _girl's_ bed.

"What's wrong with me?" Sora cried as he ran over to his bed and tried to get far away as possible from Kairi.

Sora didn't want to look at his girl roommate any more, but he couldn't help stealing a glance every minute or so. He's never seen anybody like her. He always thought Kairi was good looking for a guy, but to see that she was a girl...it was unbelievable.

After an hour or so of looking at Kairi,he finally couldn't resist and cautiously crawled out of bed and tiptoed near Kairi's bed. The last time Sora ever seen a girl, excluding his teachers, was during the summer.

Sora kneeled next to Kairi and looked at her sleeping face for a while. That's when he saw scars. Tiny thin scars along her cheek and her forehead. He never knew she was such an abused person, she was so happy and hyper all the time.

Sora reached out his hand to trace his finger on one of the larger scars on her cheek left cheek. Kairi's hand shot out and swatted it away as if it was a fly. Her hand flopped down, covering her face. She had scars on her hand too, along with her arm.

He didn't want to admit it, but he pitied her. She had scars on her legs and body too. Who could've down this? Surely it wasn't the kids from yesterday; they only kicked and punched her and bruises went away within a week.

Sora let out a silent shriek and he dove under Kairi's bed as he saw the first signs of waking up.

Kairi woke up with nonstop coughing and a runny nose. She stiffly got up and rubbed her bruised sides. She looked to her left on saw that Sora wasn't there. That's when she remebered last night. It must've been him who brought her here.

"Thank goodness he didn't find out." Kairi muttered as she started to take off her clothes and walked towards the bathroom. The warm water was back, so she didn't have to go to the bathhouse any more.

She left the door and bath curtain opened like she always did when she was by herself. She didn't like the stuffy feeling you get when you're trapped in a steaming little room.

**A/N:** Yes, it's pretty odd to do so, but it was the only way to make the story work.

Sora slapped his face. How could he have been so stupid? Of all the places he could hide, he should of just acted natural and go to his bed. He couldn't just waltz out from under her bed while Kairi was taking a shower.

After she finished showering, Kairi stayed in her bed pretty much the whole day. As for Sora, he had to hold his nose everytime the he accidently inhaled the dust under the dirty bed.

Finally around noon, Kairi left the room. Sora gratefully rolled out from under the bed and fell back on his own bed, thinking.

Kairi obviously didn't know Sora knew her secret. But he knew he had to tell her someday. It sort of made him feel guilty about it.

"Not yet. Not yet." Sora said to himself.

A few minutes later, Kairi came back, surprised to see Sora lying on his bed as if he's been there all along. He still had his pajamas on too.

"Sora? Where've you been all this time?" Kairi asked casually as she sat on her bed.

"Oh, um, I was just around." Sora stammered.

"Oh, I see. I wanted to thank you for yesterday. You know, chasing those juniors away." Kairi smiled.

"It was nothing."

Kairi cocked her head. Why didn't Sora make eye contact with her?

"Is there something wrong?" Kairi asked.

Sora shook his head.

"You're not yourself today. Anyways, I wanted to ask you something."

Kairi waited for Sora to reply, but he didn't so she went on.

"What was that thing you threatend the juniors with?" Kairi asked.

Sora stayed silent for a while, then he muttered. "It's best if you didn't know about it. Just forget what you saw yesterday."

"Ok."

Sora blinked. It was the first time she ever obeyed him without question.

"Well, anyways. I was asking the others to come with me to an amusement park today! So you have to come too, si?" Kairi's face brightened.

Sora looked at her straight in the eye for the first time he found out she was a girl. Yup, she was definately a girl. Those crystalline, lavender eyeswere to beautiful to belong to any guy. He blushed and looked away.

"I'm taking Tidus, Riku, and Wakka! Oh, and this guy I just met named Paku." Kairi smiled even wider.

"Who the heck? Paku? Isn't that a type of fish?" Sora raised a brow.

"A fish? Hm, I never knew that."

"Yeah, it's a cousin of a pirahna." Sora didn't say anything for a while after that.

"Well, guess I'll go."he said slowly.

"Yay! Then bring a couple of twenties and let's go!" Kairi giggled and ran towards the door, coughing along the way.

"Wait! I gotta change!" Sora shouted as he quickly pulled up a pair of jeans and threw on a plain T-shirt. He quickly opened his trunk and took out a yellow, little object and stuffed it in his pocket.

The air was nice and crisp and the sun reflected in the puddles here and there.

Tidus and Kairi were the loudest as always as they waited in line for the tickets. Riku was just smiling and sweetly telling flirting girls to get away from him. Wakka was flirting with the girls Riku shooed away and Paku seemed lost.

He was a nice guy with dark blue hair. His eyes were a deep green color and he was pretty short too. Almost as short as Kairi.

"Ok! Who's gonna choose the first ride!" Tidus shouted as him and the gang went through the park's entrance.

"Me!" Kairi thrust opened the park map and glanced at the rides. She chose a crazy looking rollar coaster.

"I"m not really good with those kinds of rides." Riku said as they found the coaster and looked up at it.

The rails started to rumble as the coaster came shooting by andthe people on it was a blur.

"Are you a chicken, Riku? Is that what you are?" Wakka sneered.

"I didn't say I was scared. I just don't like them." Riku said simply.

"Oh stop it. Let's go ride it!" Kairi smiled and tried to push everybody in the line at the same time.

"Stop pushing. I could walk you know." Tidus brushed Kairi away from him.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! Is Tidus a big boy now?" Kairi said in a that annoying little voice adults use to five year old kids and pinched his cheeks.

"Whatever, Kai." Tidus smirked and stood in the never ending line.

After about an hour or so, the six of them piled into the red and blue cars. Paku and Tidus sat together, Wakka sat next to Riku, bickering on and on how Riku was going to faint, and Sora didn't have much choice but to sit with Kairi in the way front.

The coasters started to groan as they slowly started up.

"Yay! We're riding on the ride, Sora!" Kairi grabbed his shoulder and started to shake it.

"Yeah, Narumi." Sora mumbled.

Kairi stared at him.

"Why are you calling me by my last name? We're friends, aren't we?" Kairi raised a brow.

"Oh, right. Ka-Kai." Sora said with some difficulty.

"You're weird." Kairi slightly turned in her seat to look straight at him.

"And you know what else? You're-" Kairi's face slammed right into Sora's.

Both of the teens stared at each other as their lips were pressing on to the other's. Luckily, the ride was so violent that they broke apart.

"Oh my dog, I am so sorry! I didn't mean to do that! Stupid. This is the second time too." Kairi shouted over the screaming and the wind whizzing through their ears.

Sora didn't reply.

Kairi easily brushed it off and started to enjoy herself. Sora didn't even seemed to notice they were on one of the fastest rides.

"That was so awesome! Let's ride it again!" Kairi smiled as they came to a stop.

"No way, Kai. The lines are super long. We're gonna be here all day. And plus, we need to eat nachos and throw up on the tea cup rides." Tidus said as he unbuckled his seat belt.

"Tidus? I think Wakka's going to die if we do that." Paku said as he pointed at Wakka. His face was a greenish hue and he was drooling on Riku's shoulder.

"Dude, Wak. Let's go." Riku shoved Wakka away and got off his seat, which started to get wet.

"Gross. Wakka! You pissed on your seat too!" Kairi said with disgusted face.

"What a loser." Riku rolled his eyes and helped Tidus get Wakka out of his seat.

"I'll take him home. He's in my dorm anyway. You guys have fun." Riku said as he helped Wakka out.

"Aww. Ok then, see ya Riku." Kairi said gloomily.

"Well, now that that's done. Let's go eat nachos!" Tidus wrapped his arms around Paku and Kairi's shoulders and started to pull them towards the exit.

Sora started to burn up. Why was it? Was it envy or just madness? He didn't like seeing Kai with the other guys like that. Some how, it felt like a monster was growing inside of him. He hated Tidus.

Sora froze in his tracks and his eyes widened with realization.

That day. That day he found them together on the roof...

The brunette clenched his teeth and ran after the others. He grabbed Tidus by his sleeve and turned him around.

"You guys go ahead." Sora said to Paku and Kai.

"But-"

"Not now, Naru-I mean, Kai. We'll be right there." Sora glared at Tidus.

Paku and Kai uncertainly left, leaving Sora and Tidus standing next to the exit of the ride.

"You know, don't you?" Sora asked coolly.

Tidus blinked.

"What's gotten into you, Wataya?" Tidus's innocent sapphire eyes didn't even flinch from Sora's cold stare.

"You know. You know, I know you know." Sora yelled.

"Know what?"

"THAT KAI IS A GIRL!" Sora breathed deeply after he got over saying what he wanted to say so long.

They merely looked at each other.

"How did you find out?" Tidus asked calmly.

Sora flushed.

"Well, I-uh, her clothes were wet and-" he trailed off.

"No, not that. How did you know I knew?"

Sora turned red again from embarrassment.

"I still remeber the day you guys were on the roof."

"Does Kai know you found out her secret?" Tidus leaned against the wall, looking at the clouds that splatter the sky.

"No. I didn't tell her. I don't think she should." Sora jammed his hands in his pockets. His fingertips brushed against the object, which he carried aroundfor months. He started to play around with it as Tidus started to talk again.

"I understand how it is. Well, now that I know you know too, guess I could say, I've fallen for her." Tidus smirked and started to strollout.

Sora took a step forward andpunched Tidus across the face.

"Don't go near her. I don't like seeing you together." Sora stepped over Tidus, who have fallen on the floor, and left him.

Tidus looked confused for a while, then smiled.

Sora angrily pushed through the crowd that seemed to grow by the second in the picture room.

"They look so cute!"

"I know! It's so sweet."

"He's hot."

A whole bunch of girls were giggling around oneof the small tv sets.

Kairi and Paku were also there, their mouth slightly open.

"What's the matter?" Sora asked.

Paku stared at Sora, then pointed at the picture of Kairi and Sora. Their lips were pressed against each other's.

"What the heck were you guys doing?" Paku asked, backing away from Kairi and Sora.

"It was an accident! She was talking to me and there was that big dip! How was I suppose to know we were going to crash?" Sora exclaimed.

"Um, Wataya? She?" Paku raised a brow.

"She? When did I say she? I said he." Sora quickly corrected.

"Whatever. Where's Tidus?" Paku said, trying to change the subject.

"Who cares about that bastard. He'll come soon." Sora grabbed Paku and Kairi and started to push them out of the crowded picture room.

The three of them walked silently, Kairi coughing once in a while. Sora's hands were stuffed in his pockets as they went towards the nachos stand.

Paku and Sora sat on one of the various benches as they waited for Kairi to come back.

"Hey! The nachos are here! Give me a hand!" Kairi called out.

Sora went over and thrust his hands out to stop the nachos from falling out of Kairi's small hands.

The shiny object in his pocket fell out and made a little tinkling noise as it fell on the floor.

Sora quickly tried to grab it, but his hands were full.

Kairi bent down and picked it up.

"What's this? It's really cute." Kairi said as she let it dangle before her eyes.

"It's nothing."

Kairi gave him a weird look.

"Nothing? Guys don't carry these kinds of things with them unless it's really special to them. Your girlfriend gave it to you, right?" Kairi gave him a teasing smile.

Sora gave her a surprised look.

"By your look, I take it as a yes. You know, it would've really hurt her feelings if she heard you call it nothing."Kairi placedthe little yellow staron the table as they sat down.

"You know, I had something like that before." She went on.

"It was made of thalassa shells. It was sort of a good luck thing. Now that I think of it, I wonder where it went. Ah well. Dig in! It's Tidus's own fault he's late." Kairi started to stuff nachos down her throat and take sips of coke at the same time.

"Sure." Paku and Sora said together.

>>>>

Tidus started towards the picture room. He paid no heed to them, until he saw the one with Sora and Kairi together. He stared at it for a while, then burst out laughing.

**Stella's Ultra Boring Page**

**manga style**

It's kind of sad. I never knew that the thing Kairi was making with thalassa shells in Destiny Islands was the oathkeeper. Very sad.

Paku, what's up with him: I think he's going to be a major character later in the story.

That's pretty much it. I aplogize if this chapter didn't really suit you. It's kind of empty.


	10. A Simple Hug

**>>It's Kai, Not Kairi**

:A Simple Hug:

**author's notes: I'm so sorry I haven't updated! There was a lot going on and such. It's weird, it was hard to think straight while I was typing this up. So it might be really stupid. But please enjoy it just the same.

* * *

**

"Hey Tidus, what's in that bag?" Kairi asked as she pointed the little plastic bag Tidus was clutching.

"Oh, just something I bought. Don't worry about it." Tidus smirked.

"Ok." Kairi said uncertainly.

The four Wataya High students said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.

Perspiration started to form on Sora's neck as he was left alone with Kairi. He couldn't help but look at her as she started to hum to herself and blink those innocent eyes. Now that he really knew she was a girl, it was hard to think straight. After all, she was the only girl in the whole school, excluding the teachers. He didn't even notice when she was looking straight at him in a weird way.

"Um, Sora? You ok?" Kairi cocked her head.

"Hm? Oh! Yeah, thanks for asking." Sora stammered.

Kairi raised a brow but didn't say anything more. They silently went up the elevator and walked down the hall till they were in front of their dorm.

"Would you open the door? I still didn't get my ID card." Kairi leaned against the wall, waiting.

"Oh yeah, sure."

Sora fumbled through his pockets, turning them inside out and patting his other pockets. After a while, he slapped his face.

"Shoot. I left it in my other pants." Sora gasped.

"Oh my dog, what are we gonna do now? The janitor isn't here until morning." Kairi exclaimed.

The two stood there for awhile, feeling awkward.

"We could just stay at Riku or Tidus's room." Kairi finally suggested.

"It's not allowed. Two people in each dorm is the max." Sora shook his head.

"Ok then. Whatever, I'm gonna go to sleep. G'night." Kairi plopped herself in front of the door and curled into a ball, kicking off her shoes.

Sora didn't know what to do. He couldn't just _lie_ down on the floor and sleep too. He stared at Kairi for a long time as if she was out of her mind.

"Kai. We can't just _sleep _out here. We should look if there's another way we could get in!" Sora desperately started to shake Kairi up.

"Go away, I want to sleep." Kairi mumbled, giving Sora her evil eye.

Beat, Sora sat and leaned against the cold, hard wall and closed his eyes. He guessed he could sit there for a while and wait for a miracle to happen. After waiting a couple minutes, Sora couldn't take it anymore. He started to get up, but he felt something tug at his sleeve. He looked down and saw that it was Kairi.

"Don't go." She whispered in her sleep, hugging Sora's arm.

Confused, he knelt down on his knees and waved his hand in front of Kairi's face. She didn't respond to it. Sora slowly tried to wiggle his hand free from her grasp, but she only held on tighter.

"Squall, no! I don't want to go!" Kairi squealed. Tears squeezed through her closed eyes and rolled down her cheeks.

Sora relaxed and sat down next to her. He reached out his thumb and wiped away her tears. Kairi slowly opened her eyes and looked up at Sora. She cried harder and wrapped her arms around his waist, sobbing into his shirt.

Time seemed to have stopped for those few seconds. This spared time let Sora think things over. Was it right to let her know? Let her know he knew her secret? But wouldn't it break her heart if he told her he knew? No, not yet. He shouldn't tell her yet...

Sora bent down and brushed the auburn hair away from Kairi's ear.

"I don't like it when girls cry." He whispered.

Sora was actually able to feel the heavy burden carried off from his shoulders. This wasn't what he intended to do, but he had said it.

Kairi looked up at Sora with her tear-brimmed eyes. She didn't know when or how he found out, but she didn't care at the moment. All she wanted was somebody to hold...because she saw _him. _She saw him back when he was alive in her dreams. The scary thing was thatshe saw how he had died. How he had died. . .

"Sora?" Kairi muttered sleepily.

"Hmm?"

"Can I stay like this until I fall asleep? I don't want to let go of anything right now." Kairi winced as the images rushed back into her head.

"Of course." Sora only hugged her tighter.

Not long after, he heard the familiar deep breaths as Kairi drifted off to sleep. He didn't know whether he should let go of her now that she was sleeping, but he didn't feel like letting her go. It was as if this was the only time he could actually treat her as a girl. However, the brunette had fallen asleep as well before he could try reasoning himself.

>>>

Sora blinked open his eyes and yawned. The sun shined through the small window in the hallway and fell on Kairi's face. He couldn't help smiling. Now, he finally knew, Kairi was the girl from the dreams he had so long after he started to go out with Naminé. . .

Riku let out a silent gasp as he saw the two in the hallway. He quickly closed the doorof his dorm and peeked through the crack. He didn't think they got their memories back...but how? How was it they're together again? But what if they didn't know? Riku let out a sigh of relief. Sora must've simply found out Kairi was a girl. After all, they share the same dorm and all. But that was the problem: A girl and a guy in one room.

Riku shook his head, smiling. Sora was too innocent of a guy to do that kind of stuff. Hopefully, this new relationship between Sora and Kairi might help them get their lost memories back...

Kairi woke up and found herself in her bed. Sora wasn't there. Now, Sora knew she was a girl too. No doubt, before the school ends, it's going to leak out and everybody's going to know.

After sitting there for a while, being dazed, her eyes slowly began to widen.

"Oh my holy poo! School!" Kairi jumped out of her bed and threw on her clothes. She quickly grabbed her bag and her unfinished homework and ran to the elevator.

"Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh." She repeated as she ran down the long hallway and banged the door open to her first period class. Nobody was there. A near by group of kids started to laugh hysterically.

"Hey Kai, you that eager to go to school? You still have two days." One of the guys said.

Kairi's face fell. She totally forgot it was still Thanksgiving.

Still half asleep despite the big shock, Kairi dragged her feet all the way until she was in front of her dorm. That's when she realized she didn't have her ID card.

"I'll just go sleep in Tidus's room." She mumbled to herself.

"Where were the 100 buildings again?" she asked herself in the elevator.

"The 400's, eighth floor, 300's, seven, 200, six, 100, FIVE! YAY!" Kairi pressed number five and leaned against the wall of the rumbling elevator, nodding her head.

"TIDUS! OPEN THE DOOR!" She pounded the door with the brass numbers "101".

The door opened and Tidus stared at her.

"Go away. I want to sleep." Kairi pushed Tidus out of the way, crawled into the nearest bed and threw the covers over her head.

"Hey, Kairi, you can't just sleep in here!" Tidus started to poke her.

Only a weird series of mumbled replied.

"Kairi, it's twelve. Aren't you going to eat or something?"

Kairi didn't answer him for a while. Finally, she threw the covers off of her and sat up.

"The truth is, Sora found out." Kairi said stoically.

Tidus thought of the incident at the amusement park the other day.

"About time." Tidus said casually.

"What? How could you say that? Nothing's going to be the same between us anymore. Nothing."

"Don't be so down. Something's gonna turn up. Anyways, I'm going to go eat. See ya." Tidus went out and closed the door behind him.

**XXX**

Sora kicked the sand as he walked along the shore of the beach. The waves seemed to have toned down just so he could think clearly. Even the wind wasn't as hard as usual.

Things were getting confusing. Could it be that Kairi was meant to find him? Is that why he had broken up with Naminé and been having those weird dreams where there's a girl with long auburn hair just standing there, looking at the waters of the island?She had to be.Kairi had to be that girl. That girl with the school uniform, just standing there...

"Ow!" Sora felt a sharp pain in his bare foot.

He knelt in the sand and searched around for whatever poked his foot.

"Stupid rock, shell, glass, whatever."

Sora gave a confused look as he picked upa strange star-shaped item. It was made out of thalassa shells and had some kind of face on it...

**Stella's Ultra Boring Page**

**manga style**

This chapter might be very confusing to some, but it'll be clear in the end, especially about 'memories' and 'dreams'.


	11. The Diary

**>>It's Kai, Not Kairi**

:The Diary:

**author's notes: This chapter will clear things up. And THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE AWESOME REVIEWS! They really motivate me to write more. Hope you like this chapter.

* * *

**

Kairi was able to smell the sweet, salty air of the beach before she even got there. It was the smell Squall liked too. She let out a deep sigh and continued to walk along the sidewalk until she was able to clearly see the beautiful blue.

She settled in the sand and leaned back on her arms, staring up at the sky. The clouds were swirling around each other, as if they were dancing. Kairi giggled; as if they were dancing. How lame.

Not far away from her, Sora was looking at the little pendant he had recently found. He thought it was crudely made. The paint on it was chipping off too. He was about to throw it back in the ocean, but thought better of it and placed it in his pocket. He then got up and brushed the sand off his pants, ready to go back to school.

As the brunette walked back towards the entrance of the beach, he spotted the back of Kairi's auburn hair. He smiled and went up to her.

"Hey Kairi." Sora said as he plopped down next to the surprised girl.

"Oh, hey." She replied, blushing.

She hadn't forgotten last night's incident.

"You don't mind me calling you that, right? Kairi?" Sora grinned.

Kairi shook her head and looked up at the now-setting-sun.

The two sat there looking at the sun set together, silently. Only the screeches of the gulls were heard from a distance and the waves lapped at their feet.

"Come on, Kairi. You're so quiet. Talk! It's not like you to be quiet like this." Sora said, trying to make conversation.

Kairi didn't answer him quickly. As if trying to put the right words together, she stared at her feet. Finally, she looked at Sora.

"This is the real me. Kairi Narumi. The person you're looking foris Kai Narumi. I'm Kairi, not Kai." She replied.

Sora stared at her. What was she trying to say?

"What do you mean?"

"You say I'm talkative? Well, I'm not. I only get hyper at school to get attention. That's how it's always been. I never really had any friends. That's why I spent most of my time drawing and making things." Kairi explained sadly.

All this never really occurred to Sora before. It was as ifKairi and Kai were two complete separate people.

"Most people would try to comfort you if you lost a family member, but nobody ever did that to me." She went on. "People started to avoid me. They thought it would help me recover from the shock I've got. Plus, ever since the day I lost my mom and brother, I stopped talking for months. That's why I couldn't socialize with others. There was only Selphie. She was the only one who really understood because she was there with me." Kairi let out a sigh.

Sora saw from the corner of his eye that Kairi was crying again. He hesitantly wrapped his arm around her shoulder and patted her arm.

"Don't worry. It's all in the past. You have friends now don't you? But next time, don't change who you are just so you'll be accepted. Even if it's the only way, don't. Trust me, you don't want to do that." Sora scolded.

Kairi looked at Sora and rolled his eyes.

"That goes for you too! Riku told me you weren't like this. He said it use to be very hard to shut you up. Sora, I know you've changed. You're not sarcastic anymore." Kairi said.

Sora gave her an odd look.

"Riku?"

"Yes, Riku. He told me about you and your girlfriend. He said you were really a different type of person until you and her broke up." Kairi explained.

Sora's face darkened.

"How does Riku know what I was like before I broke up with her? I've only known him for a couple of months now." Sora said.

"What? But Riku talked about you as if you guys were friends since three or something."

Sora shook his head. "I hardly even know him. That nosy, pretty boy, trying to know everything, is he?"

"No. It can't be. I use to listen to a lot of people talk when I was little and I've learned a lot from it. The way Riku was talking was truly a way a friend would talk about a friend. Sora, I swear. You guys had to be friends." Kairi defended Riku.

"But I barely know him! It can't be possible, Kairi!" Sora said, exasperated.

"Well, I don't know about that but-" That's when it hit her.

_Let me explain this way. It's like a candle in the dark. If it's lit, you know where it is and you cherish it and never want to let it go. But if somebody blows that lit candle out, you're swallowed in darkness again. The candle is still there, but nobody will know. I'm that candle in my friends' memories..._

Was it possible? Could it actually be true? Riku's friends...

Kairi stared at Sora with wide eyes. Tears started to brim her eyes as she did so.

Yes, it had to be. There was no other better possible explanation.

"It can't be." She whispered.

"What?" Sora cocked his head.

"No!" Kairi jumped up and started to run out of the beach, crying.

_It was so sad... the blank look in Sora's eyes as I told him about Riku knowing him as a close friend would._

_And Riku, he lives right next door to one of his best friends and he doesn't even know it. How would it feel? To have your friend not know you're his friend?_

"I have to know." Kairi said to herself as she ran.

She dodged through the great mob of people in the town center.

"Oof." Kairi fell back on the floor.

"I'm so sorry." Kairi exclaimed as she helped the blonde haired girl up.

"It's okay-" The girl's eyes widened.

"Get away from me!" She pushed Kairi and started run away from her.

"What?" Dazed, Kairi stood for awhile. The blonde's bag was lying on the floor.

"Oh my dog. HEY! WAIT!" Kairi picked it up and started to run after her.

Luckily, most of the people had beanies and the girl's long blonde hair was easy to spot.

"Wait! Your bag!"

The girl looked at Kairi with fright and only ran faster.

"Stupid person." Kairi muttered. She picked up her speed and finally grabbed the girl's arm.

"Why are you doing this! I'm only trying to give your bag and you just push me and run off? What kind of person are you! You're a big fat meanie! You cruel, heartless person!" Kairi's eyes filled with hatred.

The girl only looked back at her with her turquoise colored eyes. Some how, the girl seemed very familiar to Kairi.

"Do I know you?" Kairi asked.

The girl stared at Kairi with fright.

"It can't be. How! After all I did! How do you recognize me! How could you! After all that trouble! Tell me how you got your memory back!" tears were streaming down the blonde's face.

Kairi stared at her.

"My memory? What's wrong with my memory?" Kairi asked.

The girl's face went pale.

"You mean. You didn't. You don't know me?" The girl's voice quavered.

"Of course not. Why would I want to know a slug like you anyway? Here's your bag. You waste my time." Kairi threw the bag at her feet and turned around, only to bump into Sora.

"Sora? How did you-" Kairi stopped as she looked at Sora's face expression.

It was as if he's seen a dead person. Kairi looked back at the girl and saw that her expression was like that too; the look of recognization.

"Na-Naminé." Sora stammered.

Kairi stared at the two for a while. So, this girl was that person from Sora's sketches. The girl that changed Sora.

"Don't say my name." She snapped.

"So, you still have dreams of that girl? That girl with red hair? The girl you dumped me for?" Naminé asked in a mocking tone.

Sora didn't say anything.

"Heh, didn't think so. And how is it you two got together?" Naminé looked at Kairi now.

Sora only continued to stare at Naminé with shock.

The blonde started to walk up to him. She was about the same height as Kairi and inches shorter than Sora. She started to stroke his hair.

"Don't want to answer? Want to come back to me, Sky?" Naminé smiled.

Kairi stepped up and angrily pushed the blonde away from Sora.

"Get away from him. It's over between you and him." Kairi grabbed Sora's hand.

"Let's go, Sora. You don't need losers like her." Kairi gave Naminé one last evil look and pushed through the crowd.

Naminé only crossed her arms and the look of a plan spread in her eyes.

Sora silently opened the door to the dorm. Kairi looked at Sora with concern. What happened to the two? What could've been so bad that Sora couldn't even say a word?

"Kairi?" Sora called out.

"Yes, Sora?"

"About us...Naminé and me...don't worry about it. It's just something." Sora said barely over a whisper.

"The dream.." Kairi said.

"The dream. I don't know why it keeps entering my sleep. But ever since I've been with Naminé, I've had dreams of this girl. The dream is what interfered our relationship. Don't worry about." Sora rolled onto his bed without changing into his night clothes.

Kairi stood where she was standing for a while and then went out the door. She placed the door blocker on between the door and the door frame and went across the hall to Riku's door. She knocked on it with her knuckles.

"Who's there?"

"It's Kai."

The door opened and Riku stepped.

"Hey Kai! What's up?" He smiled.

"About Sora..." Kairi started.

"Yeah?" Riku continued to smile.

Kairi looked into his aquamarine eyes. She didn't know if she could ask him.

"Um...never mind. I just-just forget it. Sorry to bother you." Kairi mumbled.

Riku raised a brow and leaned against his door, crossing his arms.

"Come on Kai. I know you wanted to tell me something."

"I'm not sure if I'm ready to tell you. Maybe next time. Good night." Kairi waved and slowly walked towards her door.

She took out the door blocker and went inside. Sighing, she thrust herself on her bed. Sleep wasn't going to come easily tonight. She pulled out her duffle bag and dumped out all the books she had grabbed and threw in back at home. She never really read them.

Kairi rolled off of bed and sat on the floor, flipping through the pages. They were mostly books required for eighth grade, so she didn't really need them any more. Sighing again, she started to throw them in back in her bag. As she did so, there was one without a title. Curiously, she picked it up and looked at the cover.

"I've never seen this before." She said to herself.

She opened it up and looked at the first page.

**Kairi's Diary**

**Keep out!**

Kairi never kept diaries. She thought it was stupid to talk to a book. However, she did start to read the first entry.

6/9/02

Omg! School is out today! Sora, Riku, and I went swimming after. Naminé tagged along but she juz drew stuff. I wish she would talk more. She never does. I wonder how it feels to be so quiet and lonely like that. So glad the gang is there for me.

Knitting her brows, she quickly flipped through the diary and hastily read another one.

8/4/02

We're going to set sail soon...I can't wait. It's strange. These days, I can't get Sora off my mind. We were just friends at first, but now...I'm not sure. I told Naminé about it. She just sat there, not saying anything. But I think I upset her because she just walked away. Ah well, I better start packing. Tomorrow's the big day.

Kairi's hands were shaking as she flipped through other pages and read them.

2002, that was this year... During the summer, she went to summer camp. She couldn't have written this...

"NO!" Kairi threw the diary against the wall, tears streaming down her face.

The book fell on the floor with a plop. A piece of paper was sticking out of the pages. Hands still shaking, she slowly picked it up and turned it around. It was a photo. A picture of Sora, Riku, and her...


	12. Pieces

** It's Kai, Not Kairi**

:Pieces:

**Author's Notes: I'M SO SORRY! PLEASE ACCEPT MY APOLOGIES! ((cries)) IT'S JUST THAT I HAD THIS BIG HUGE, ok I'll stop using caps real quick, writer's block and it wouldn't go away. But PLEASE DO READ AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK OF IT! Thank you!**

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own any of the characters in this chapter, except the father of Kairi.

The trembling auburn hair girl etched her way towards the helpless looking weathered book. Up until this day, she didn't even know it had existed and even more surprisingly, she was the person who had written in it. But it couldn't be possible, could it?

Her frail body shivering and her fingers trembling, Kairi picked up the piece of paper and turned it over. Three pairs of different colored eyes looked back at her; sapphire, lavender, and aquamarine. Kairi's liquid brimmed eyes looked at the girl in the center of the photo. It was her. The only difference was the fact that her hair was much longer and she was smiling. Not a fake smile most people use for quick snap shots, but a true smile.

The auburn hair girl's arms were wrapped around the necks of an albino haired teen and a brunette.

The tears she had held started to squeeze out of her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. A single tear landed on the face of the brunette…it was Sora.

Without thinking, she ripped up the picture into pieces. The grinning brunette's face was ripped in two and the pieces fell with a soft thud on the open pages of the diary. Kairi grabbed the withering pages and to pull them out of its spine.

Her life, it was all a lie. She was living a fake life. For months, she's been living with false memories. Why? Why did this happen?

Brushing her tears away with the back of her hand, Kairi pulled her duffle bag towards her and started to pile all her belongings in it.

"I have to find out the truth." Kairi whispered to herself as she started to empty out her drawers.

She grabbed the remaining clothes but hesitated when she saw her school uniform. The blue tie, the white collared shirt, navy blue pants and matching jacket with the words "Wataya High" imprinted on the left side...it was a very plain, but nice, that is, for a _guy. _She didn't belong here.

Kairi clutched the uniform to her chest for a second longer and then threw it aside. She quickly zipped up her bulging bag and slung it over her shoulders. She grabbed her shoes and started towards the door. She was going to leave and she didn't intend to come back. But as she wrapped her hand around the cold metal door knob, she couldn't help but think about all the friends she had made... especially Sora. After all, they were the only family she had in this school.

Letting out a deep sigh, Kairi tried not to let her tears fall again as she rummaged through her drawer for a piece of paper and a pen. Unsuccessful, she finally grabbed her homework and took out a pen from Sora's desk. She scribbled a few words on her Thanksgiving break homework and then set the pen aside.

As the auburn hair girl shuffled back towards the door, she couldn't help but steal a glance at Sora's face one more time. But as she looked at the sleeping figure of the brunette, she knew a quick glance wasn't enough. Bawling like a baby, she dropped her bag and ran towards the sleeping boy.

Sora's eyes were shut tight and his breathing was slow and gentle. He was sound asleep and looked even more beautiful in Kairi's eyes. She brushed his messy hair with the tips of her fingers and touched the side of his face. Suddenly, his hand shot out from under the covers and grabbed her outstretched hand.

The next thing she knew, Kairi was lying in bed with Sora in a very awkward position.

"Don't leave me." Sora mumbled, his eyes still closed.

Kairi held her breath as she started to wave her hand in front of his face, which never worked anyways. But by the looks of it, it very much seemed like he was still asleep. She slowly pulled his arm off her shoulders and slid off the bed, but he only grabbed her again and this time, put his legs around her too.

"I said don't leave." Sora said.

Kairi wriggled around to get see Sora's face. His eyes were open, his ocean blue eyes brighter than usual.

"Don't leave me." Sora repeated.

With that said, he closed his eyes and slowly, his grip around the poor girl loosened.

The next morning, Sora woke up and saw that his room mate was gone.

"Kai? Kairi?" He called out in the empty room.

He slid off his bed and padded across the carpeting. As he glanced at the digital clock, he noticed there was a piece of paper lying on top of it. The brunette walked over to it and picked it up.

_Sora,_

_I'll never forget you again. That's a promise._

_Kairi_

"Honey! What are you doing here?" Kairi's dad beamed as he opened the door.

"Hey, Dad." Kairi forced a smile and gave her dad a quick hug.

As Kairi walked into her house, a sweep of warm air warmed her face. Her house looked exactly the same as it did two months ago.

Kairi went over to her favorite fluffy blue sofa and plopped onto it, her bag still hung around her neck.

"So, why are you here?" Kairi's dad asked again.

Kairi started to twirl a strand of her dark crimson hair around her fingers as she stared up at the ceiling, her other hand resting on top of her forehead. She exhaled sharply and hoisted herself up to a sitting position and looked at her father's eyes with a look that could've burned a hole right through him.

"Daddy, why did you want me to go to an all guy's school again?" Kairi asked even though she clearly knew the answer.

"Because, it was your brother's dream to go there, but after the accident..." Her father trailed off, his eyes started to cloud as if he was temporarily away from the real world.

"And how come I have to go there if it was Squall's dream?" Kairi continued.

Kairi's father's pale eyes returned and looked much more alert. Then, his face split into a smile.

"It's been a while since I've heard you say his name."

Kairi didn't reply and continued to look at her father with the same cold glare.

Kairi's father's smile slowly turned upside down and he started to rub his eyes, looking distressed. He slightly opened his lips, but only to lick his upper lip with his tongue.

"Kairi, you know I would never lie to you." He started.

Kairi gave a slight nod but didn't say anything, afraid to scare her father away.

"But you also know that there's no such thing as "never". I have to tell you this, Kairi, honey. You're older brother wasn't the only case why you were to attend a school where only male students get there education."

This whole time, Mr. Narumi had been keeping his gaze away from his daughter's questioning ones. But as the following words were about to be released, he took his daughter's face in his rough hands and looked straight into her eyes. It was as if he was looking at the face of his wife.

"It was because I wanted to protect you."


	13. Runaway

**It's Kai, Not Kairi**

:Runaway:

**Author's Notes: **For those who really hate cliff hangers, I'm truly sorry, but I always tend to end with them. And I think I'm going to end this as a cliff hanger too...I'M SO SORRY! But that's how I like to write...but i hate cliff hangers too...so...I do not know. Anyways...IT'S GOING TO THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF STELLA KIM ON 12/9/05. Wow, already a year has gone by since I have joined. Well, enough of my blabbering, PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!

* * *

Tears streaming down her face, Kairi grabbed her bag and stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind her. 

Those awful words her father had said, it was too much for anyone to bear.

"_Squall...he's not your brother, he's doesn't even exist. The first thing you said at the hospital was "I saw big brother." For the next couple of months, you kept mentioning him. I finally realized Squall was a fake memory Naminé had made." _

She turned the corner from her neighborhood and entered the main street towards the bus stop.

_"I wanted to protect you from a girl that changed your life. A girl that caused that scar on your cheek and your memory" _

Kairi plopped herself down on the cold, chipped bench next to the sign as she tenderly ran her finger across the scar on her left cheek. Then she started to look over her arms and legs. She never really minded these scars; she grew up thinking they were caused by the neighbor's dog.

(read chapter 9 for the first mention of the scars)

"_I didn't want you near that witch again...there's not a lot of schools here and Wataya High was the only non co-ed school. So...that's the reason why... I wanted to protect you Kairi, I wanted to protect you." _

All the things written in the diary was true. Riku, Naminé, and Sora...

"I miss you Sora." Kairi whispered as she lied down on the bench, still clutching her scar covered wrist.

She didn't know it could be so painful to be apart from him. Not being able to hear his breathing before she fell into her slumber, it felt as if a big part of her was missing. But she couldn't go back no matter how much she wanted to. How would Sora take it if he found out he was living a fake life too? All the memories he had treasured and lived by were lies.

Kairi let out a deep sigh hugged her bag closer to her and looked up at the stars. A couple of months ago, Sora and she had thought about going to the other worlds. Not that she remembered. She only read her past memories in her diary. That's when it hit her. What was she going to do? She certainly couldn't go back to Wataya High and she felt bad facing her father; all he had gone through, it must've been hard.

But after a few seconds, Kairi realized she didn't care right now. She didn't care if she had to live out on the streets, she didn't care if she had no open arms to run to, and she didn't care if she didn't have her memories. All she wanted was Sora.

A few more tears ran down her cheeks and stifling and yawn; the auburn hair girl closed her eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

Sora panted as he leaned against the side of the building. Where did she go? He had looked everywhere. All the main streets and stores, he had checked them all. Where could've she gone? 

The brunette looked up. The clock in the middle of the square read five to twelve. It was nearly midnight. He quickly swabbed his forehead with the edge of his shirt and continued to run through the large crowd, calling out Kairi's name.

"What have I done?" Sora asked himself over and over again, hating himself even more every time he did.

Sora thought of everything that had happened. After meeting Naminé, he had told Kairi about how he had dreams of a girl... maybe she got offended by it?

"No, that's stupid," Sora said out loud.

The brunette continued to check the same places over and over again until he couldn't take another step. His asthma had gotten better, but it was still there. Throwing his head back, he groaned. Then, he noticed how the stars were brighter than usual tonight.

"Hope you're watching the stars with me Kairi." He said randomly.

* * *

Riku quickly and silently got out of his bed and looked over at his digital clock; the blazing numbers read '5:18'. It was Monday and school was to start again. Wakka was sleeping in as usual, his flaming orange hair sticking out all over the place. 

The albino hair teen quickly washed up and dressed into his jogging clothes. He seemed like an orderly person, but if you were to open his closet, his clothes were just thrown in there.

Riku went towards the door and stuffed his feet into his shoes to start his daily routine; jogging.

The sun was cold and the sky was still gray when he stepped out of the school. Breathing in the fresh air, he started at his usual slow pace and went towards the opposite way of the main square. He found it too crowded there, even in the early morning.

The road he jogged through was made by him; after all, he did run through the dirt everyday. There were barely any people seen around here. But later on, the plants and greens slowly disappeared and rows of neat looking houses came to view.

Hardly even panting, Riku was already done with one mile.

"Three more to go." He said smiling.

As he went by the usual bus stop, he noticed somebody lying across the bench. Cocking his head, he slowed down and peered into the person's face.

It was Kai.

"Hey, Kai! What are you doing here?" Riku nudged the girl's shoulder.

"Sora?" Kairi thought as she looked up at the person standing over her.

It was Riku. She liked him and everything, but she couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. Kairi sat up on the bench and scooted over for Riku to sit down.

"So Kai, what are you-"

Kairi wrapped her arms around Riku's sweaty neck, silent tears rolling down her face.

_Stop calling me Kai, you idiot. I know you know who I really am. _

Riku didn't how to react. Finally, he slowly started patted Kairi's back, trying to comfort her.

"It's ok, it's ok." He cooed.

_NO, IT'S NOT OK! HOW DO YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL? WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S OK! _

Screaming inside her head, she pushed Riku away from her and buried her face in her hands.

"Whoa, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you cry, Kairi." Riku quickly said.

Kairi stared up at Riku, her eyes wide. Did he just call her by her name?

Too depressed to talk, Kairi only continued to look at Riku with her surprised look.

"What?" Riku said uneasily.

After a while, he too realized what he had just called her and his bright face dimmed a bit.

"No, no I meant Kai. I guess after so many times you said Kairi, I guess it stuck to me too." Riku forced out a laugh.

Kairi shook her head, her eyebrows furrowing. She took Riku's hand and placed it on top of her chest.

Riku's face flushed as she did so.

"Wha-what are you doing, Kai?"

Kairi didn't have her ribbon binding her chest; she had taken it off a while ago. With that, she looked into his eyes, trying to tell him that she knew. She knew all about her memory loss.

The two sat in silence for a while, finally, Kairi let go of Riku's hand.

"Riku, I know who you are, and I'm sure you know who I am too." Kairi finally said.

Riku looked up at her, surprised.

"What do you me-"

"YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!" Kairi screamed.

"AND I KNOW THAT SORA WAS YOUR OTHER FRIEND AND I KNOW THAT NAMINE MESSED WITH OUR MEMORIES AND I KNOW YOU KNEW IT WAS ME, KAIRI NARUMI, THE WHOLE ENTIRE TIME!" Breathing heavily, she looked away from Riku.

Riku patted Kairi's shoulder to make her face him again. But she refused, still breathing heavily, and angry tears falling down her face. He continued to pat her shoulder, but she still ignored him. She didn't want to look at him ever again. She didn't want to hurt anybody anymore. Because of her, Riku and her dad had to bear so much pain.

Riku stopped tapping her back. But a second after that, she found herself in Riku's arms; his chin was resting on top her head.

"But you don't know how much I love you." He whispered.

* * *

Yes, totally out of the blue, even for me. 


	14. Missing Him

>>**It's Kai, Not Kairi.**

:Missing Him:

**Author's Notes:**I finally updated! Yay to me. I'm thinking this story's going to end in a bout 3 or 4 more chapters. But, if it's good enough, I'm thinking about making a sequel to it. Tell me what you readers think. And thank you sooo much for reviewing! I didn't think this fic would even last this long. Anyways, I'm sure people don't even read author's notes, so whatever. But enjoy anyway!

* * *

Kairi didn't know what to say as she sat there on the cold broken bench with Riku's arms wrapped around her. 

"Riku, I-"

"And do you know how much Sora _hated _you?" Riku interrupted.

Kairi didn't reply. Her body only became tense and her ears became more alert; she had a feeling he had more to say.

"But you always followed him around, bugging him. He was really annoyed too. And you know these scars?" Riku tenderly thumbed the scars on her face.

"They were caused by Naminé; I know that, but also _him._ He's the one that hurt you."

Stubborn tears started to well up inside Kairi's lavender blue eyes.

Riku leaned closer to her and breathed into her ear the most hurting words:

"And, he's the one that killed your mother."

"NO!" Kairi pushed away the stunned teen and stood up.

"I don't know if what you're telling me is true or not, but I know Sora wouldn't do such a thing. And I don't know _why _you have anything against your best friend. Sora is your friend isn't he?"

The tears that had been holding back for so long finally broke through and started to flow down the auburn girl's dirty face.

"Why must you hurt me? It's not my fault I lost my memory, is it? Why are you reciting my memories to me?" Kairi wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and grabbed her bag.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"I'm going back. I'm going back to Sora. I can't take it anymore." Kairi started to sprint towards the high school.

"Wait!"

Kairi scowled as Riku grabbed her arm. He swung her around to make her face him.

"Are you stupid? Didn't you hear what I was telling you? Sora's a murderer!"

"Maybe I was too before I lost my memory." Kairi said flatly.

"But-"

Kairi swung her arm, breaking free from his grip and slapped him hard on the face. Riku stumbled backwards and landed on the ground.

"SHUT UP! I don't care anymore! All I want, all I want…." Kairi trailed off.

What _did_ she want? Was it those sapphire eyes? That untamed hair that seemed to stick out no matter how many times she tried to comb it? Or that smile. Those rare but beautiful smiles he had.

Only one name in the whole entire world would fit that description.

"Sora." Kairi said to herself.

Kairi defiantly looked at Riku, who was sprawled on the floor holding the side of his face.

"I miss him so much." Kairi spluttered, tears streaming down her face and even her nose a little runny. Ashamed, she looked at her feet and watched her tears silently drop and splatter on the ground.

"No, no. That's not what you're supposed to say." Riku said as he stood up.

"What you're supposed to say is do you love me too?" Riku couldn't hold his true feelings any longer.

Kairi blinked. Then it hit her, she had forgotten Riku's feelings for her. Riku realized this too. Her expression was blank as if he just told her he was a girl.

Riku grabbed Kairi's cold small hands and enclosed them in his large ones.

"Kairi, come to me. Please, forget. Forget about Sora." Although his voice was calm, his eyes were pleading with all its might.

Kairi looked up at him.

"Forget? I already did that. And look what happened. I _found _him again." Kairi smiled as if she just realized this herself.

_I found him..._

"I don't know what else to say. I _love _him." Kairi's smile turned even wider, tears still squeezing through her eyes.

"Wow. I really _do _love him, Riku! I love him and I'm gonna go back." Kairi said again, beaming through her tears.

Riku's face fell. Kairi pulled her hand away from Riku, again. But this time he held fast.

"No. No, Kairi. I'm not gonna let you go again. Not after all Naminé and I went through to make this work. Can't you see? You lost your memories because I loved you!"

Kairi only stared back at him.

"Gosh, you're being over dramatic, you know?" Kairi raised a brow, smirking.

This time, Kairi was actually able to see the small fire in Riku's eyes growing larger until it filled up his whole aquamarine orbs.

"Ah ha ha, you have fire in your eyes, Mister." Kairi burst out laughing.

"This is no time for joking around Kairi." Riku said seriously.

"What do you mean? Who's Kairi?" Kairi looked behind her and then back at Riku.

"Me? NOnonononono, MY! Name is Frog! Sora said so. Yes he did. He said my name is Frog from the VEEERY beginning! But he called me MISTER Frog. Ah hahahahha! Like you! Mister! I remember." Kairi tapped her head.

_What the heck is wrong with her? Did all that depression get into her head?_

Riku took a step back as the laughing Kairi suddenly fell on the floor and started sobbing and pounding the earth.

_Yup, that must be it._

"Mister? Why does it hurt right here?" Kairi lied back on the grass and touched the left side of her chest.

"And how come every time I think of Sora I feel so...so..._happy?_ Like how I feel when I see puppies and rainbows." Kairi reached out her hand and started to rip apart a dead leaf.

Riku silently stood there, not replying.

"Huh Mister? Why aren't you answering me?" the girl threw the remnants of the leaf in the air, watching the pieces slowly come back to her.

Deep inside the albino hair teen, everything was breaking down. How was he suppose to stand there watching his friend act like this?

Riku violently jerked Kairi up to her feet and tightly wrapped his arms around her, tears falling out of his eyes this time.

"That's how I feel about you. Don't you understand? Don't be like this, Kairi. Don't."

"My name is FROG!" Kairi angrily hit Riku with her fist. "And I need to go to Sora now. Bye bye Mister." Kairi broke away from Riku's hug as if it was nothing and started to stagger towards the school.

This time, Riku let her go. She was wrecked, and it was his entire fault.

Everything was going so well; Naminé had Sora and she was nice enough to help Riku have a chance with Kairi. But that small chance was gone. How could two loving people be able to find each other after their memories were taken away from them? Riku lied down on the bench and looked up at the sky, shielding the sunlight with his arm. A single piece of a leaf flew towards him. He caught it and threw it in the air again.

It was all over.

The auburn hair girl ran out of the elevator and ran to the door with the familiar numbers '208'. Still without an ID card, she started to bang her fists on it.

"Sora! Sora I'm here! It's me, Frog! I came back! Don't you want to see me?" Kairi called out, smiling.

There was no answer.

"C'mon Sora Wataya! Ah ha ha, Wataya…that's the name of my school! Did you notice that Sora? Your name is like, Sky Wataya High School!" Kairi tried to pry open the door with her fingers, but failed.

"Sora, open the door, pwease! With a cherry on top?" Now desperate, she started to kick at the blue coated door.

Giving up, the auburn hair girl sat next to the door and leaned against the door.

"Sora? Why aren't you there? Did you run away?" Kairi sniffled.

"Kai?"

Kairi looked up and met the dark emerald eyes of Paku. It's only been three days since they were at the amusement park together. It seemed as though it's been months.

"Hey, Fishy." Kairi said, quickly brushing away a tear.

"What are you doing out here?" Paku sat next to her, his dark bangs getting in his eyes as always. His dark ebony hair was messy, but not as messy as Sora's.

"Trying to get in, you?"

Paku held up a dictionary from his hand.

"Had to get my book back from Wakka."

"I see." Kairi sighed.

"Is something bothering you?" He asked calmly as he usually talks.

Kairi shook her head.

"You shouldn't lie, Kai." Paku said, smirking.

"I'm not lying. Something's not bothering me. My heart is. And it hurts right now. It hurts a lot." Kairi grabbed her shirt and bent over it like a chicken roosting on a nest.

"You're aura tells me everything." Paku said casually as he leaned against the wall, looking up at the ceiling.

Kairi looked up at Paku, raising a brow.

"You could sense auras?"

Paku nodded.

"Then, can you _find_ certain auras too?" Kairi asked hopefully.

Paku loosened the dark tie around his neck and ran a hand through his hair, letting out a long whistle.

"Well, auras aren't something you look for. It's just _there_, you know?" He finally said in his monotone voice.

"So, are you saying you can't find Sora for me?" Kairi asked.

Paku glanced at Kairi with his dark emerald eyes and smirked.

"I can help find Sora with you."

---------

Sora scanned the beach for the hundredth time. Why, why was his heart beating so fast? Why is he so worried? It's not like he felt anything for Kairi…

Right?

Sora shook the thoughts away and ran his hand through his jungle of brown hair. Where could she be?

He stuffed his hands in his pockets, feeling the warmth being transferred from the pockets to his hands. Then, his finger tips brushed against something. Curiously, he pulled out whatever was in his pocket. He smiled.

It was the little pendant made out of thalassic shells he had found the other day. He sat himself down on the sand for a while to take a rest, still eyeing the little pendant. For a second, only a second, the star shaped face smiling at him looked vaguely familiar.

"Oh." Sora said to himself.

He took out another similar looking pendant from his other various pockets and held it next to the one made out of thalassic shells. It was the one Naminé gave to him years ago.

They were both star shaped looking key chains; one yellow with a green leaf sticking out of the top point and the other a glimmering white with blue towards the middle.

"Strange how things work these days." Sora muttered to himself.

He stuffed them both back in his pocket and laid back in the sun. Where ever Kairi was, he hoped he was able to find her soon. He had to. He didn't know why, but he wanted to see her, hold her, whisper to her, kiss her…

Sora's eyes widened at the thought and slapped the side of his face.

What the heck was he thinking about? Kairi was just a _friend._ No, not even a friend, a _roommate._

"Yeah, a roommate," Sora said to himself.

Just a roommate.

But deep inside, it didn't feel that way.

* * *

Dun dun dun dun...next chapter next time. 


	15. I Missed You

**>>It's Kai, Not Kairi**

:I Missed You:

Author's Notes: Yay! I finally updated! Woot! Took me long enough...ANYWAYS! My writing really really sucks, doesn't it? Only if I could write better the story would be too...but then again, whatever. SO! Please enjoy the FIFTHTEENTH CHAPTAH!

* * *

A lanky boy walked down the stone steps of the public library and looked around, running a hand briefly through his raven black hair. He glanced at his watch and let out an exasperated sigh. He then looked up again, frowning.

As he scanned the square, his dark emerald eyes widened.

"Kai! Over here!" He shouted.

The auburn hair girl looked his way and started running towards him.

"Did you find him?" Paku asked as soon as the puffing girl came within ear shot.

"No. You?" Kairi panted as she leaned against the light pole, gasping for air.

Paku shook his head.

"You know, he might be over at the beach…" Paku said silently.

Kairi looked up at Paku and raised a brow.

"At this time? I'm sure he isn't _that _crazy."

"Look who's talking." Paku smirked.

"What? Me? Talking? Of course you have to look at me talking. Anyway, I'm not gonna stop looking. Even though it's stupid like you fishy, let's go check the beach anyway." Kairi laughed as she said 'stupid fishy' under her breath.

"C'mon. Let's go." Paku grabbed Kairi's wrist and the two hustled through the thick mob of people.

Kairi's eyebrows furrowed as she absent mindedly followed Paku through the crowd.

_How did I lose Sora in the first place?_

_Oh yeah, my memory was erased. _Kairi answered her own question.

Too busy thinking, Kairi bumped into the warm back of Paku as he halted at the edge of the beach. Kairi looked at his emerald eyes, which were pointed towards the where the water and sand met, and followed his gaze and gasped.

She could recognize that messy brown hair anywhere.

Paku looked at Kairi and smiled. Kairi nodded and started walking towards the brunette. She looked over her shoulder and saw Paku walking away.

Sora, he didn't care. He was sitting here on the beach gazing at the horizon while she was running away. He didn't even bother to look for her. Kairi couldn't believe she thought Sora would like her.

_But…_

Letting out a breath, Kairi continued to walk through the soft sand; the small grains rolling off her shoes and some flying through the air as it got caught in the wind.

As she walked closer and closer to the brunette, she felt as if the road was getting longer and longer. She didn't know she missed him this much.

_I missed you Sora._

As if the boy heard, he looked back and his sapphire eyes widened.

"KAIRI!" Sora scrambled to his feet.

The auburn hair girl closed her eyes, hiding a smile. She loved the way he said her name.

Maybe, maybe he did try looking for her.

"Kairi, where have you been?" Sora tried to catch her eye.

Kairi didn't answer, her eyes concentrating so hard on the ground that it seemed like she would bore a hole in it any time soon.

"Hey, what's wrong? Why aren't you answering?" Sora put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Surprising, Kairi didn't make a hole in the sand, but it darkened with little droplets of water.

Why was she crying?

Sniffling, Kairi slowly raised her hand and clutched onto the edge of Sora's jacket. She didn't want to let go of it. But when she tightened her grip on his jacket, even more tears squeezed out of her eyes.

She didn't care if Sora thought she was crazy. She didn't care if he hated her or not. All she cared about was him being by her side. Forever.

Kairi stiffened as Sora's arm came out of no where and pulled her in close to his chest.

"I was scared. You don't know how afraid I was."

Kairi blinked as she felt her hair dampen. She looked up and saw big fat tears roll down the face of Sora, not to mention, a thick liquid substance etching its way out of his nose. A smile started to worm its way into Kairi's chapped lips.

"Sora, you dork." Kairi giggled and wrapped her arms around him.

_I love you._

Tidus frowned as he looked at the picture for the thousandth time; the picture he purchased from the amusement park. Sora, he looked so clueless and Kairi looked plain shocked as their lips were pressed together. He didn't know why he bought this, it only made him hate Sora more than ever, but then again, he couldn't help smiling whenever he saw the girl's face.

Tidus quickly stuffed the picture under his pillow and opened up the school newspaper and shifted on his side to lean on his elbow as the door creaked open.

"Hey Paku." Tidus greeted.

"Hey." Paku said absentmindedly.

He walked over to his bed and fell back on it, looking up at the ceiling.

"Where've you been?" Tidus asked without really caring.

"Helping Kai." Paku answered vaguely.

Tidus raised a brow and folded the newspaper up.

"With what?"

"Finding Sora."

"Finding Sora." Tidus repeated.

"Yeah."

"He was gone?"

"Actually, it was Kai who was gone. He just came back and found Sora missing. That's all."

This was how the two usually had their conversations. Short and simple.

The blonde was silent as he sat there dumbfounded. When was Kairi gone? And _why_ was she gone?

Without saying a word, Tidus jumped out of his bed and started towards the door.

"You shouldn't bother them." Paku said.

Tidus turned around to face him.

"What?"

"You shouldn't bother Sora and Kairi." Paku clarified as he reached over for the newspaper Tidus was reading a while ago.

Tidus's eyes widened. How did he know?

"How-"

"I've known for a long time, Tidus. A simple haircut and clothes will not fool me." Paku now looked at Tidus.

"And I know how much you love her."

Tidus glared at Paku. That was the thing he didn't like about Paku. No, that was the thing he _hated_ about Paku.

He always knew how everybody felt. It was as if nobody can run away from him. He always _knows._

"Then, do you know if Sora does too?"

Paku lazily ruffled his dark hair, which perfectly settled back in place.

"I don't know if I should tell you that our not." He said coolly. "Oh, we're getting a new blitz ball stadium." He added to himself as he read through the Sports section.

After a few seconds of silence, Paku finally said, "But I do know that the school president has an interest in the female."

"What? Ri-"

"RIKU'S IN THE HOSPITAL!" the door slammed open as Wakka frantically looked at Tidus, then at Paku.

Tidus stared at him.

"What?"

"RIKU'S AT THE HOSPITAL!" Wakka cried as he grabbed Paku by the collar and cried into his shirt.

"Why? What happened?" Tidus gestured the orange head to sit down on the bed.

"I don't know. But I was going to the store to get some paper 'cause I ran out and I can't do my homework wit'out paper. And when I go in, there's Riku man tied up in a strait jack't. And then they put him in an ambulance and take 'im away." Wakka sobbed.

"Let's go see him." Tidus said as he grabbed the school's pe sweater.

"You guys go ahead. I'm staying here. You're only gonna be able to see him through a little plastic window anyway." Paku said as he folded up the newspaper and threw it in the waste basket.

"You mean Riku's in one of those, what do you call it, asylums?" Tidus asked.

"He probably lost it when he was rejected by Kairi." Paku continued without answering the question.

"What? Who's Kairi? Riku had a relationship wit a girl?" Wakka gasped.

"Yeah, whatever. I'm still going." Tidus opened the door and closed it shut behind him.

"Hey! What for me, man!" Wakka quickly pulled him shoes on.

"No, you shouldn't Wakka. Just leave him alone. He's not going to see Riku." Paku said as he reached under Tidus's pillow and pulled out the photo.

* * *

I just wanted to get Riku out of the story soo bad.(ha ha) And no, I'm not going to make Riku sane again because as I was writing this chapter, I realized I forgot about Tidus and it'll be plain weird if there were three guys after one girl. So now, it's back to Sora and Tidus. Oh happiness. Seriously.


	16. The Asylum

**>>It's Kai, Not Kairi**

:The Asylum:

A/N: Yay! I can finally update! I'm pretty sure this is going to be a short dissapointing chapter, but I knew I couldn't ditch Riku without his own chapter. I think this is the last chapter he's going to play in. But I hope you still enjoy it! (This is more like a chapter I used so that I can deal with my writer's block. Eh he he.)

* * *

She left.

He cried.

He had lost _her_.

Staggering along the winding road, he followed it. Filled with anger and sorrow, he occasionally yelled at the wind, screaming, knowing that there was nobody who will answer him. But he didn't care. He didn't care about anything. All he could see in front of him was _her_.

Her. Kairi Narumi. The girl he had desired for years. Her memories were replaced, and yet, he still didn't have that magical power Sora held.

Riku. That was _him._ The boy who lost the girl. How was this boy feeling? Broken.

Broken. That was the word. He had felt like a translucent glass and the girl was the one who shattered it; shattering his world into tiny pieces of dangerous sharp shards.

And that was what he had become.

Dangerous, dangerous sharp shards.

Riku panted and blinked the sweat out of his eyes. With a glint in his eyes, he looked around and spotted the little item shop.

Item shop. That meant many valuable little trinkets. _Fragile _little trinkets.

Grinning, he slicked his hair back, getting it out of his eyes. He pulled the door open, the annoying little bell tinkling above his head.

He cautiously stepped into the stuffy little shop. Colorful bottles were in a neat row, containing variety of different potions and such. Over there were the statues of miscellaneous characters. And every other corner of the shop was filled with things Riku couldn't identify. But he didn't care. All of this, every single little thing, will be broken.

Just like him.

"Don't blame me." Riku grinned.

His hand, balled into a fist, flew through the row of colorful bottles.

_Shatter._

"Ok, _Riku_." The lady rolled the name around her tongue, getting use to the name of her new patient.

"Yeah that's me," Riku grumbled, squirming under the extremely uncomfortable white suit.

"Yes. That is you._ Riku. _And you can call me Dr. Strife._" _The lady flashed her pearly whites and pulled a strand of chest nut brown hair behind her ear.

She scratched a few things on a piece of paper attached on her metal clipboard afterwards and placed the pen she was using inside her breast pocket. She then crossed her leg and looked at Riku.

She was about the age of twenty; hazel eyes and wavy brown hair. Riku thought she was ugly, but at that moment, so did everything else.

"Now, I want you to tell me what happened. What made you decide to wreck the item shop you entered?"

Riku solemnly sat where he was, his lips clamped shut. He didn't want to answer this lady's question. He didn't want to answer it because he didn't _know_ the answer.

"Is this question too hard for you, Riku?" Dr. Strife asked, trying to catch his eye.

Riku nodded, trying to free his arms at the same time. Noticing his uncomfortable posture, Dr. Strife leaned over and untied the arms of the strait jacket.

"Now that you're more comfortable, I want you to think carefully. Closing your eyes will help."

Riku reluctantly closed his eyes. He didn't want to listen to this woman, but somehow, the tone in her voice seemed controlled his mind. It was as if she had some kind of _power_ that can lure people into her.

Surprisingly, Riku was able to see what he was doing. First, he stepped into the little shop. He had knocked down the potions, then he crunched the pieces under his shoes. By then, the shop keeper had started to curse and swear at him. This had upset Riku and he punched the shop keeper as well.

And the next thing he knew, a white van was outside the shop and people in white were dragging him away. And by the door, he saw his so called friend. Wakka, of all the people, why didn't he help him?

Riku flipped his eyes open and clenched his teeth in anger.

He wanted to punch Wakka. He wanted to kick him.

"I want to punch Wakka. I want to kick him." Riku grinded out the words.

"Who is Wakka?" Dr. Strife asked calmly.

Riku shook his head. "He use to be friend. Now, he's not." He couldn't even talk in complete sentences.

What was wrong with him?

Dr. Strife took out her pen again and scribbled something down on her paper.

What was this? Was she _evaluating_ him? Was she writing down his feelings? What kind of animal would do such a thing?

And that's when the doctor regretted her move of untying her patient's arms.

Riku's hands flew. He grabbed the collar of the frightened looking doctor and shoved her against the wall.

Gasping, Dr. Strife reached for the walkie talkie in her large, coat pocket and mumbled a few words, wincing from the pain on her back.

Two large men in black stepped in and grabbed Riku from both sides.

And that is how he landed in the "white comfy room".

In this particular room, he was allowed to have freedom from that awful strait jacket and punch anything as much as he wanted. The walls and floor had a spongy feeling to it. There were punching bags dangling from the ceiling and a little bed in the corner. There were no windows, except for the little, barred, square one in the only door. And the door was locked.

Locked. Meaning no escape.

But Riku didn't care. He didn't have the feeling to escape. All he wanted was to hug her close to him. He wanted her to tell him how much she loved him.

His knees buckled from underneath him and he found himself weeping. He didn't know it would hurt this much to lose somebody you never even got to have.

"Kairi." Riku called out.

* * *

Short and stupid. The two perfect words to describe it. Now, for your convenience, you may press that little bluish, purplish, squarish, rectanglish, button and type how much you HATED this chapter. Oh, what a strong word.


	17. Salty Kisses

**It's Kai, Not Kairi**

:Salty Kisses:

**Author's Notes: **Gah! I didn't know I haven't updated in such a long time. I'm really, really sorry. It's just that I had all this testing going on and that big, humugo writer's block. Plus, this story is pretty much dead. There's only going to be two more chapters and then I'm going to start revising chapters one through 14. But that depends on how much procrastinating time I have. Well, hope you enjoy this one. It really has no point though...

* * *

"Sora, I don't want to go back," 

"Hm?"

Sand drifted off his spikes as the brunette sat up. Sitting only inches away was Kairi. She seemed to shrink as he looked at her, and the moonlight gleamed on her soft, auburn hair. It had grown longer over the past weeks and gave her a more feminine look.

Kairi met his gaze and then turned her eyes back to the vast sea surrounding the small island they called home.

"To school, I don't want to go back to school," Kairi continued, "All those people, Wakka, Tidus, Paku…they're not supposed to be in my memory."

Kairi smiled through barely visible tears and looked up at the speckled sky.

"-but the thing is, I don't know what's _really_ supposed to be there."

"Kairi, what are you talking about?" Sora's brow furrowed and he tried to find the answer in the girl's eyes.

Although he only had the moonbeam for guidance, he was able to see a small stream of water coming from the brim of Kairi's eyes.

"Are-are you _crying_?" Sora gingerly laid a hand on a trembling shoulder.

Kairi violently shook her head and brushed away a tear, but it was immediately replaced with another and soon, it was unstoppable. Drop after drop the tears fell. Some rolled down the side of her face and clung to her chin and others helplessly got absorbed by the sand.

Hesitantly, the brunette slowly put his arm around Kairi and pulled her close. That's when she started to cry her heart out.

"Shh, it's going to be all right. I don't understand what you're trying to say, but just forget about-"

"That's what I want to do!" Kairi screamed out, "I want to _forget_ all of this and remember what I wasn't supposed to forget. I want to remember you, Sora." Kairi breathed heavily and grabbed at her hair.

"Kairi, of course you remember me, I'm right here, can't you see?"

"But-"

A giant wave knocked Sora down, muffling Kairi's voice, and drenched the two teenagers to the skin.

Kairi blinked the salty sea water out of her eyes and swallowed a gasp as she saw Sora's face nearly touching hers. She was able to feel his chest rising and falling on top of her own.

"_His eyes are so blue," _Kairi thought.

The two exchanged no words of any sort for a while until Kairi finally broken the vibrating silence.

"Sorry," Kairi murmured and forced out a laugh.

She tried to worm her way out under from Sora's body but he made no effort to help her.

_Is it just me or is he getting heavier?_

"Um, Sora? Would you get off of me? I'm kind of squi-"

The rest of her words were forced back into her mouth as Sora pressed his lips against hers.

Kairi's eyes widened and she tried to go as far into the sand as possible, but Sora didn't budge.

Confused, Kairi didn't know what to do. Was she supposed to kiss him back? Did he expect her to push him away?

Kairi ignored the voices chattering away in her head, wrapped her arms around Sora's neck, and closed her eyes. In complete darkness, Kairi was able to feel the warmth beneath the wet skin and the beating of his heart. It was her first real kiss and it tasted salty, but felt so sweet. She couldn't remember being this comforted and safe in the longest time.

o.O.O.O.o

Tidus stumbled across the sand covered pavement and leaned on a decaying, wooden pole. Panting heavily, he looked around and wiped the sweat from his eyes.

"Where are you?" Tidus whispered.

Regaining his strength, he stepped on the sand where the beach began. He scanned the area: the moon, sand, water, sand, water…

But what was that in the distance?

Tidus stepped closer to the dark silhouettes a couple of yards away from where he was standing. As he got closer, he realized it was a couple making out. Trying to give them privacy, he backed away; but as he gave them one backward glance, he immediately recognized those chocolate spikes. Tidus stood there, shocked. It couldn't be, it just _couldn't_. But it was. It was Sora and Kairi. As he saw Sora break away from the kiss, he quickly turned away and casually started to walk towards the sidewalks. Unwanted tears started to squeeze through his shut eyes.

It was weird; he _knew _Sora had feelings for Kairi, and so did she. But it hadn't really bothered him until now.

_Why?_

The word rang through his ears and vibrated his mind. The pain, it was unbearable.

o.O.O.O.o

There was an awkward silence as the two sat side by side looking at anything but the person next to them. Kairi kept stealing sideways glances at Sora but quickly glued her eyes back to the ocean when he caught her gaze. Not able to take the silence, Kairi finally thrust her head upwards to the sky. The worlds illuminated it along with stars far away.

"The stars are so beautiful," Kairi said dully.

"_Yeah, you are,"_ Kairi imagined Sora returning the ever-so cliché line.

Sora looked up as well and smiled.

"Yeah, but only because I'm looking at it with you." Sora smiled softly and didn't look at Kairi's stunned expression.

It wasn't what she expected, but it was still good enough for her. This moment she had right now was something she wanted to cherish forever. If she wanted her old memory back, she would have to get rid of this one. She couldn't bear losing it now that she thought about it.

"So, what were saying before the –uh- wave hit?" Sora asked.

Still deep in thought, it took a while for Kairi to realize that Sora was talking to her.

"What?"

"You were saying something about remembering me." Sora raised a brow.

"Oh, that. Just, forget it. It's nothing,"

_No, it's everything._

"Alright," Sora gave a shrug, leaned back on his arms and closed his eyes.

Kairi bit her bottom lip and forced her hand from brushing his face.

"No, you pervert. Stop that!" She slapped her hand.

The two couples were completely oblivious to the dark shadows generating from the ground. Before any of them started to notice, they were completely surrounded by yellow eyed, thirsty-looking creatures.

"So here you are, Sora." A familiar voice shattered through the midst of the mob.


	18. Before

**>>It's Kai, Not Kairi.**

:Before:

**A/N**: Before we get into the conflict between that blonde nobody and the couple, here is the past of what happened. It explains quite a bit; Sora's abnormal personality being one. I hope you enjoy it.

* * *

Chapter 18: part one

Twenty-five pairs of eyes were glued onto the large clock above the teacher's head. All the kids had their backpacks over their shoulders and most of them were already out of their seats. Even the teacher was nervously clutching onto her thick folder overflowing with papers.

"Three," Kairi whispered, "two, one…"

_Breeeeeng_

"It's summer!" Sora shouted from behind her as she jumped out of her seat.

Kairi smiled at the grinning brunette. From all her friends, he hated school work the most, not to mention his terrible grades. But nonetheless, he was a good student and her best friend.

The two pushed through the crowd of students trying to pile out of the room at once. Every year was like this. The island was small and didn't have many residents living on it; so there weren't many junior highs. But most of the islanders tended to live on west of the island; it had the best view of the other floating pieces of land. So the west schools had far more students than the east.

"Finally!" Sora gasped in fresh air.

Kairi gasped too as she leaned against the wall and cradled her head. It felt good not to be inhaling the air somebody had already exhaled. But her low blood pressure was getting the better of her. Clenching her teeth, she squeezed her eyes shut, which helped her get rid of the dizziness. Sure enough, she was able to see straight within a few seconds.

The brunette standing next to her looked at her with a worried expression.

"Is it-"

"Don't worry about," Kairi answered. She didn't like it when people talked about her weak body.

"You guys wanna hang out at the beach?" A deep voice came from behind as Kairi and Sora got tangled into the strong arms of Riku.

He was a year older than them and went to Wataya High. Being an old elementary school friend, he came by everyday to say hi.

"Hey, let go!" Sora shouted as he tried to pull Riku's arms off of Kairi's neck.

"I don't want to." Riku teased.

"Seriously, let go. Kairi's not feeling well," Sora shouted.

Riku instantly let go of Kairi.

"Sorry," He mumbled.

"It's ok," Kairi replied as she picked up the book bag she had dropped.

Sora crossed his arms across his chest and pouted for a while. For some strange reason, he didn't like seeing Riku around Kairi these days…it made him feel uneasy. He glared at Riku for a while and then finally turned away.

"So, why don't we get going?" Sora tried to say casually.

"Yeah!" Kairi shouted as she grabbed Riku and Sora's hands.

Giggling, she pulled them out of the now-empty school. She was a fast sprinter and didn't show any mercy as she dragged her friends down the road until Sora collapsed.

"Oh my dog, I forgot. I'm so sorry, Sora!" Kairi gasped as she hoisted Sora up to a sitting position.

Sora shook his head as he fumbled out his inhaler from his pocket. He closed his eyes and deeply breathed in the magic of the little plastic inhaler.

"You all right, buddy?" Riku asked. His voice didn't carry much concern.

Sora nodded as he stood up from the help of Kairi. He looked at his two friends and smiled.

"Let's get going, it's hot." Sora shifted his backpack onto his other shoulder and brushed off the dirt from his pants; they were his swimming shorts. That was Sora; always prepared when it came to playing.

"Yeah, let's go," Kairi and Riku said in unison.

The three walked side by side without a word until they were able to see the vast sea looming over the sandy road.

"Woot!" Sora and Riku hollered as they stripped off their shirts while running towards the crashing waves.

Shaking her head, Kairi placed her bag on the sand and sat down. She had to catch her breath for a second; she passed out fairly easily when she swam right after a run.

"Hey, Kairi," a quiet voice greeted her from behind.

Kairi looked up and smiled; it was Naminé.

"Hey, Nami!" Kairi said as the blonde sat down next to her.

She took out her orange sketching pad and a couple of pencils from her school bag. Interested, Kairi watched as the blonde stared at the horizon for a while. The ocean was Kairi's guess.

But after a minute or two, Naminé let out a sigh and started to sketch out an outline of a body.

Kairi raised a brow. Was she drawing Riku? But as Naminé's outlines started to look lifelike, there was no doubt that she was drawing Sora. Even though the figure in her drawing had his hair matted to his scalp due to the weight of the water, she was able to make out the spiky locks of Sora; _her_ Sora.

To her relief, Naminé started to draw in another figure next to the first one. This one was Riku.

Kairi couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. Of course Naminé didn't have anything towards Sora; she wasn't the type to have silly crushes.

"Hey, Nami? I'm gonna go take a dip too, ok?" Kairi said as she started to strip down to her swimming clothes.

Naminé gave a small nod, but didn't look up. She was a bit…_different_ from other normal kids, but she was still a good friend to Kairi. She even drew pictures for her at times. She drew that famous gunner called "Leon" for her once. In the picture, he was holding Kairi's hand in a brotherly way. Kairi adored that picture and carried it around everywhere.

Kairi smiled as she cautiously waded deeper into the water. Sora and Riku were racing each other a few yards away. Sora was the first to notice her. Smiling, he waved at her and swam towards her way.

"Finally," Sora said with a sarcastic tone.

Kairi laughed, "Sorry, Naminé's here too."

Sora looked towards the shore and waved at Naminé, who timidly waved back.

"Why don't we ask her to swim too?" Sora asked.

"Um, she's drawing something," Kairi said quickly.

"Oh, ok. Wanna race?" Sora smiled.

Back on the shore, Naminé started to draw a third figure. This one was a girl…

Chapter 18: part two

"So, what do we need?" Sora asked as they walked over to the unfinished raft.

The three friends had decided to do something "adventurous" before school started. They only had three weeks until it was back to homework and tests. After a few arguments and fistfights, the trio had decided to go rafting. Sora got over his head and wanted to look for other worlds. Surprisingly, Riku had agreed.

So that was their plan; searching for other worlds.

"Hold on," Kairi said as she took out a notebook from her bag.

Riku glanced at it and smirked; it was her diary. He wasn't a stalker or anything, but he had seen her writing in it a couple of times. He had managed to read the first couple of entries, but she had ripped them out after she found out what he had done.

The auburn hair girlleafed through the pages and stopped at a folded one.

"We need a mushroom for each of us, a couple of coconuts, and water," Kairi said as her eyes scrolled down the list.

Sora stared at her.

"What? That's it? We're gonna _die_ before an hour!" Sora exclaimed.

Kairi shrugged.

"That's what we're gathering from the island. We can take more food from home," Kairi replied as she turned to another page.

"Oh, I was about to say," Sora sighed in relief.

"Oh yeah, and Riku, bring cloth, rope, and logs," Kairi read off to Riku.

"'K."

Riku took off before Sora can complain.

"Hey, how come I have to gather food? Why can't I gather stuff for the raft?" Sora whined.

"Because Riku's stronger than you," Kairi said flatly.

She tried to hide her smile as she stuffed her book back into her bag. The truth was; she didn't want Sora to be gone too long.

"Whatever, Kairi. Someday I'll show you that I'm _much_ stronger than that girly man," Sora said as he dragged his feet to pull out mushrooms and whack trees for coconuts.

Kairi gazed at Sora until she wasn't able to see him anymore. She sighed and dug out the unfinished pennant made out of thalassic shells she had started on a week ago. She dug in her pocket and pulled out a handful of large, glimmering, white shells. Kairi leaned onto one of the cool palms and started to weave the shells into the pennant. She was only half done, but she was able to make out the outline of half of the star she was aiming to make.

"Hey, Kairi!"

Surprised, she dropped her craft and looked up to see Sora.

"I brought the coco-hey, what's that?" Sora placed the large, green coconuts on the sand and picked up the semi-star shaped item.

_Shoot, he wasn't supposed to see that._

"Um, um…it's for good luck. Sailors used to make them before they set out to see, you know?" She laughed sheepishly as she tried to get the pennant back from Sora.

"Oh, ok," Sora said as he placed it in Kairi's outstretched hands.

"Well, I'll go get the mushrooms now," Sora smiled as he ran off to find cool, dark places.

Letting out a sigh of relief, she continued to work on the small "good luck item".

She didn't want him to know that it was for _him._

Chapter 18: part three

Riku wiped the sweat from his eyes as he stepped back from the raft. Finally, they were finished.

"All we have to do now is wait for tomorrow," Riku announced.

Sora whooped and fell back onto the sand, a smile plastered onto his face.

Riku rolled his eyes at his friend and looked around.

"Hey, where's Kairi?" He asked Sora.

"She's with Naminé. I think they're taking a walk together," Sora said through closed eyes. He was exhausted from all that lifting and tying.

"Hey, let's rest for a while," Kairi panted.

Naminé nodded and the two sat on a large rock. They had gone pretty deep into the island jungle. It wasn't that big, but it was pretty dark and filled with bizarre plants and animals.

"You know, I think I like Sora," Kairi said with a distant look on her face.

Naminé stiffened.

"It's kind of weird; we were friends for so long," Kairi continued. Then, she let out a small laugh.

"I'm sorry, Naminé. I'm sure you don't want to hear my fantasy love stories," Kairi said.

She looked at Naminé and her smile faded away.

"Naminé? Are you ok?" Kairi asked.

The blonde stood up and nodded.

"I have to go home. Sorry."

Naminé hugged her notebook close to her chest and made her way back out of the jungle.

Kairi knit her eyebrows together. She could've sworn that she saw tears in her eyes…

Shaking the thought away, she retraced her steps out of the island's jungle as well. Riku and Sora would've been finished with the raft by now. The two had forbade her to even touch the raft afraid that she might break her finger or something.

The bright sun blinded Kairi as she finally stepped out of the cool darkness. Sure enough, she was about to see the white sail of their raft waving in the August wind.

Sora waved at Kairi as she made her way towards them.

"We were gonna go look for you," Sora said as he walked up to Kairi.

"Sorry, I got a bit lost," Kairi lied.

"Bit lost? Um, are you ok, Kairi?" Sora raised a brow.

It was _impossible_ to get lost in that puny jungle.

"Yeah, yeah," Kairi replied.

"Stop flirting and hurry up, you guys!" Riku shouted out to them.

"We're not flirting!" Sora shouted back at him.

"C'mon. Let's go," the brunette said as he grabbed on to Kairi's hand.

Kairi's eyes sparkled as she got a better view the raft. It was crudely made and not the best, but it was _their_ raft. Sora and Riku had made it together. Of course, it would've been a lot worse if it wasn't for Riku.

"It's beautiful," She whispered.

"Yeah, she is," Riku said as he stroked the smooth wood of the raft.

"Her name's Highwind," Riku said afterwards.

"Yeah, what a gay name," Sora said with an irritated tone.

"Psh, better than "The Raft of the Sea"," Riku spat.

"But it's true!" Sora shouted, "it's not _highwind_ is it? Who names their rafts after the wind? You might've as well named it "Fart head"."

Kairi rolled her eyes.

"You guys are acting so immature, stop it!" Kairi's voice broke through the argument.

"Sorry," the two boys mumbled.

"Anyways, shouldn't we be heading home? We have to rest, don't we?" Kairi said as she picked up her belongings.

"Yeah, we should," Sora agreed.

The three said their goodbyes and headed home. Tomorrow would be the big day…

Chapter 18: part four

_Sailing with Kairi..._

Sora smiled at the thought as he looked up at his ceiling. He was able to smell dinner downstairs, but the salty air from the beach was stronger. He got up and looked out his window. The brunette was able to see the little raft floating on the surface.

_Crash_

Sora jumped as he heard thunder from a distance.

A storm was going to hit…

"The rafts…" he whispered.

Not taking a second to think, he jumped out of the window and nimbly onto the soft, sandy floor.

_Ding dong_

"Who is it?" Kairi called out as she went towards the door.

Hearing no response, she opened the door to face Naminé.

"Oh, hey Naminé. What are you doing here?" Kairi asked.

"To get you away from him," Naminé said quietly.

Kairi gave her a confused look.

"Um, huh?"

Naminé looked into Kairi's eyes with hatred.

"You're gonna regret this," Naminé hissed.

Still confused, Kairi blinked at her friend. But soon, her eyes were wide in shock as she was able to make out dark figures emerging from behind Naminé.

"Nam-Naminé, look!" Kairi backed away into her house and pointed behind Naminé.

The blonde smirked and moved aside. The mob of dark creatures swarmed into the small house and flooded the living room.

They climbed all over Kairi's small body like ants and clawed at her. Naminé walked over to the unconscious body and murmured something. Before she headed back outside, she saw something glimmering admist the darkness. She bent down and pulled the rest of it out of Kairi's pocket; it was some star-shaped pennant; it was obviously for Sora.

"Hm, I'll give it to him for you," the blonde said as she placed it between her notebook.

Naminé closed the door behind her and walked towards the Secret Place; Sora was waiting.

One week later

"Ngh."

"Kairi?"

Kairi peeled her eyes with some difficulty and looked around in confusion. She was in a white room. She stared at the various tubes and wires attached to her body, not to mention bandages and a cast. Kairi's best guess was that she was in a hospital, but why?

Kairi's eyes finally landed on her father. She gave him a blank stare.

"Why am I here?" She asked slowly and carefully.

"You, you don't remember?" Her father clasped his hands around hers.

Kairi thought for a moment. Those creatures and-

"Squall!" She blurted out.

Her father stared at his panicking daughter. Squall? Who the heck was that?

"Um, Squall?" Her father repeated.

Tears squeezed out of Kairi's eyes as she tried to get out of the uncomfortable bed.

"Squall, where is he? Tell me, now! And mom, where is _she_?" Kairi cried.

"Kairi, you mother died years ago, don't you remember?" Her father's eyes were filled with tears as well. His daughter had lost it.

Kairi stared at her father as if he had slapped her.

"Dad, don't you remember? Those dark creatures! They invaded our house and-and killed Mom! Squall was fighting them off and you were at Selphie's. Don't you remember?" Kairi screamed.

Her father only walked up to her and pulled her into his arms.

"Kairi, it's ok. Everything will be ok."

The stubborn girl pulled away from her father.

"What's wrong with you?" She hissed.

Angry and frustrated, she pushed her dad aside and stomped towards the exit of the room. She accidentally bumped into somebody coming in.

"Sorry," Kairi mumbled.

She left the room and headed towards the exit of the hospital.

Riku stared at the back of Kairi and then at her father.

"She, she didn't recognize me," Riku said in disbelief.

Mr. Narumi rubbed his eyes and sat on the bed. He let out a long sigh and finally looked up at Riku.

"I think something's wrong with her memory," he finally said.

Riku dropped the bouquet of flowers he had brought with him.

"Kairi too?"

The man looked up at Riku.

"What do you mean?"

Riku shook his head, his teeth clenched.

"That witch," he said under his breath.

"Excuse me?"

The silver haired teen looked up.

"Oh, it's nothing."

"I see. Hey, what about Naminé, is she ok?"

"I'm right here, Mr. Narumi."

Riku turned around to see the blonde walking in. He glared at her with hatred that could've easily brought down the sun.

"You, what are _you_ doing here?" He spat.

Naminé looked up at Riku with a fake confused expression.

"I'm here to see Kairi. Why else would I be here?"

Riku grabbed the small girl by the collar of her shirt and brought her face close to his.

"You're the one. I _saw_ you. I saw what you did to them!"

Naminé returned his glare with shock.

"How-"

"Don't ask me how. Just give them back! Give me back my friends!" He shook Naminé violently and threw her on the ground.

He started towards her but Mr. Narumi restrained him from the back.

"What's going on?" He said with a calmness that made Riku want to slap him.

"That _thing _over there messed up your daughter's mind…and Sora's," He choked out.

Mr. Narumi stared at the blonde sprawled on the ground and slowly let go of Riku's arms. Naminé didn't look up, but tears were spilling on to the tiled floor.

"Yeah, I did, but only because Sora was mine and Kairi was getting in the way," she said with her quavering voice.

She got up and looked at Riku defiantly. A small smile started to form on her lips.

"But I got to answer her wish; that gunner she was always drooling over," Naminé smirked and started towards the door.

"Oh yeah, there's nothing you guys can do. I'm the only one that can restore their memories so don't waste your time and effort," Naminé said before she closed the door behind her.

A single tear rolled onto her nose and into the small pond. Kairi wiped away the tear stain and sniffled. She gazed at her wavering reflection and sighed.

Her face was a total mess, especially her left cheek. The scratch wasn't deep enough to make a noticeable scar, but it was too long to be covered by a standard bandage for now.

Squall, why couldn't her father remember him? Another wave of tears took over her and she crumbled onto the grass.

"I'm so sorry, Squall. I'm so sorry," she whispered.

She was totally oblivious to the two men standing a few feet away from her.

"You know, she can't go to Destiny High," Riku said softly.

"Why not?" Mr. Narumi asked, his eyes still glued onto his daughter.

"Naminé would be there," Riku replied.

Mr. Narumi stared at him.

"What can we do?"

Riku didn't say anything for a moment. Finally, he exhaled sharply and faced Kairi's father.

"She'll have to go to Wataya High," Riku said.

"But, isn't that an all boy's-"

"Yes, but it's the only way. I go there as well so I can look after her. Sora's father is the superintendent of that school, so he won't be a problem; he'll be attending that school no matter what," Riku said.

The two shared silence for a while and looked at the crying girl through tearful eyes.

"How will I tell her?" Mr. Narumi finally broke the spell.

"Do whatever you can; just make sure you get her into that school."

Kairi's father nodded.

Another week later

"Dad, the meat loaf is in the stove!" Kairi called out to her father.

"Ok, honey!" her father replied.

Kairi smiled and cuddled back into her sofa and flipped open the book she was currently reading. But her mind wasn't really focused on it. She was still too excited about the fact that her uniform was coming today.

_Ding dong_

Kairi's lavender-blue eyes glanced up from her book.

"OH MY DOG! DADDY! IT'S HERE!" Kairi threw down the book she was 'reading' and ran towards the door. Thrusting it open, her elbow knocked down a vase.

"Oops." She bent down to pick it up and swiftly turned her head, bumping into the door.

"Gosh…" Kairi rubbed her head and finally, looked at the deliveryman.

"Sorry. Um, thank you!" She gingerly took the parcel and closed the door.

Her dad entered the room, looking more excited than her. But that excitement was only there to cover up his nervousness.

Kairi looked down at the box and carefully opened it, her eyes twinkling. Then, the twinkle was gone.

"DAD! WHAT THE HECK IS THIS!" She dumped out the uniform from the box and pointed at it.

"It's obviously your uniform." Her dad unscrewed the cap of a coke and drank heavily.

"I know that, but this is a _guy's _uniform." Kairi somehow knew this was coming. Over the last week, her father had been talking nonstop about Squall and even called her by his name.

"Because you're going to an all guy's school. Better cut your hair shorter and act more manly" Kairi's dad yawned and started to walk out the room.

Stray tears escaped Kairi's eyes, tears of fury.

"I am not your son. Your son is dead." She spat out each word with venom barely above a whisper.

Her dad's footsteps slowed to a stop.

"That's why you will carry on his duties," He said coolly.

"Why? Mom wouldn't have made me do this-"

"I'm not you mom, ok? You're going to that school and that's final. I already got you registered."

Kairi angrily glared at her father as he walked out of the living room.

Mr. Narumi closed his eyes and whispered a silent prayer; he couldn't believe what he was doing to his daughter.

But Riku had said everything would be all right. He said nothing would go wrong.

And that was what he was going to believe.


	19. Chains

**It's Kai, Not Kairi**

:Chains:

A/N: GAH! won't let me b/i/u. How depressing...I'm sorry if this chapter may be a bit long and confusing. And I'm TERRIBLY sorry for procrastinating. If I could, I would give out sexy Sora's dipped in chocolate to each and every one of you.

* * *

A stabbing pain in her chest jolted Kairi awake. She groaned, which seemed muffled and hollow in a strange sort of way.

Another cry of pain grumbled in her throat as she peeled her eyes open and tried swallowing her surroundings.

Her eyes widened.

"Sora!"

She lunged forward but was thrown back. Confused, Kairi glided her fingers across the smooth surface, which encased her entire body.

She was in a prison made of glass.

Pure longing and confusion filling her eyes, Kairi pressed her nose against the wall of her cage.

There he was. He was only a few feet away from her. If it weren't for the glass, she would have been able to touch his dark locks, which were still damp and sticking to the sides of his face. There seemed to be no spark in him, and Kairi realized that it was because his bright blue eyes weren't peering back into hers.

He was sleeping or unconscious.

Heart thumping against her ribcage, Kairi hugged her knees and didn't take her eyes off the boy in front of her.

"Why are we here?" Kairi asked aloud.

Only the vibration of her own voice replied.

Kairi closed her eyes and rubbed the left side of her cheek on her knees, thinking.

_There was a beach…and Sora…he had kissed her, right? _

Kairi gently touched her own lips at the thought.

_And then there was…_

"Naminé," Kairi whispered.

A sudden chill ran down her spine as she said the name.

That's when the door slammed open and a blonde girl walked in.

It was as if that small whisper had called her.

Noticing that Kairi was awake, Naminé smiled and walked over to her. She was wearing a clean, white dress that made her look almost angelic, and her hands were placed behind her back.

"Hello, Kairi," Naminé greeted softly. Despite the situation, she was all smiles.

Kairi hugged her knees tighter in defense. The speaker seemed to push her down with the weight of hatred in her eyes.

"We finally see each other again. And look!"

Naminé stepped aside so that Kairi was able to see Sora again.

"So is Sora. It's like a little reunion, isn't it?"

The blonde clasped her hands together and beamed, the smile never leaving her face.

Kairi glared at her. Only a well of clear blue gazed back at her.

Breaking away from her eyes, Naminé circled the glass flower while concentrating on the tiled floor.

"I believe it's been quite a while since we've all been together, isn't it?" Tinkling bells answered her own question.

"Only if Riku was here too…" Naminé trailed off as she looked up at Kairi.

"Then it would be _complete._"

The witch carried out the last word so that it rang in Kairi's ears.

Naminé then rolled her eyes.

"But he had to be _stupid_ and now he's behind bars like you," Naminé winked, "figuratively speaking."

Kairi's eyes widened. Riku? Behind bars? Sora had been her first priority the past few days and had completely forgotten about the silver-haired sophomore.

"Wh-what happened to him?" Kairi asked. Her voice buzzed with hesitance.

Mock surprise veiled Naminé's face as she placed a pale hand over her heart.

"Why, you didn't know? He got carried into the asylum! Lost his mind, that poor boy."

She chuckled when she saw the guilt flicker in Kairi's eyes. After a short interval, Naminé brushed her hand through her hair as if she was disposing of all thoughts in her mind. The mask instantly disappeared, and the well seemed to be churning, its blue water full of nothing but anger.

Still, the blonde's voice remained light and confident.

"Now, I want to give you a choice."

Kairi tightened her arms around her knees.

"As you already found out, your memory has been replaced by _me_." Naminé emphasized the last word.

"And now, I'm not sure _what_ I should do with you and him." She jabbed her finger in Sora's direction.

Naminé walked towards Kairi and placed her hand on the glass.

"So I want you to help me."

Naminé made the act of sitting down. A chair appeared from thin air and caught her.

"Number one: I could either erase both your memories and you won't remember me, the school, and Sora. In fact, you would be living peacefully without any of your other friends as well. And most importantly, "Squall" wouldn't be haunting you. Well, he never existed in the first place."

Kairi narrowed her eyes and leaned towards Naminé.

"What do you mean?"

"You never had a brother, dear." The blonde's voice was dripping with honey.

"It was you."

A scream made its way out of Kairi's throat as she fell onto the floor. The glass had disappeared.

Naminé walked over to Kairi and stroked her left cheek. Kairi flinched from her cold fingertips.

"It was only you that got attacked by those 'dark creatures'. Your mother, your brother…they weren't there. In that house, that night, only you got wiped."

Another scream echoed through the room as chains started wrapping themselves around Kairi's legs, arms, and body like snakes.

"Number two," Naminé raised two fingers. "I return your precious memories, but Sora won't remember who you are. If you ever try making him remember, I'll have to kill you."

"What if I don't care about my old memories anymore? What if I want to just keep the one I have right now?"

Naminé raised a brow. Apparently, she never thought of this.

"Well, then…you'll be off the hook. But I'll have to kill Sora. I don't want you getting all of the happy ending."

"You monster. I thought you loved him!"

Naminé laughed as though she just heard a good joke.

"_Me? A monster?_ Then I guess that makes you a demon, Kairi."

"This isn't a game, Naminé. We're talking about lives right now. Humans living their lives."

"Sounds rather hypocritical of you to say that, Kairi. After all, I never killed a person in my life. You on the other hand…"

Naminé eyed her carefully, letting it sink in.

"You killed a person's heart. Rather cold of you, don't you think?"

Kairi bit her bottom lip and furrowed her brows.

"I didn't do it on purpose, Naminé. You can't expect me to falsely love somebody, do you? How was I supposed to know Riku loved me? We were only _kids_, Naminé!"

Naminé's eyes shot up in mock surprise.

"Riku? What are you talking about, honey? I was talking about Tidus."

Kairi's jaw slightly dropped and she tilted her head to one side.

"Tidus…what do you mean? What are you talking about?"

"And not only Tidus, but also the entire school. You are a liar, _Kai_."

Kairi balled her hands into fists, but tensing her muscles sent pain through her arms as the chains tightened.

"It wasn't my choice to lie. I don't even know why I had to go."

Naminé clucked her tongue and slowly shook her head.

"Everybody has a choice, Kairi. It wouldn't have _killed_you to not go to Wataya High.

"Look at you now. Look at what you're in. You think this would've happened if you just went to the public school with me?"

"I would've eventually found out anyway."

"Oh?" the blonde looked amused.

"I had a diary, and I read it."

"But you surely don't remember doing the things you read."

"I don't really care anymore, Naminé. Sora and I still found each other, didn't we? That's all the really matters to me right now."

The blonde laughed.

"Is that so? Well, let's see if you can find Sora again after I rinse you out again."

Kairi's eyes widened.

"What? No! You can't do this to me!"

Naminé sat back down on her chair and crossed her head, waving her hand as if she was shooing away an irritable fly.

"When did I say I was going to erase your memory right now? This is too fun to end already."

Kairi felt the metal snakes uncoil her body and disappear. She was back in the glass flower.

"Now you stay here and be a good girl. I'm going to go talk to Sora."

The witch vanished, leaving her empty chair to face Kairi.

Kairi wanted to scream. She wanted to curse and shout and kick the glass surrounding her. She wanted to touch Sora, she wanted to talk to him, she wanted to hear his voice.

But all she was able to do was silently cry in her glass dome.

--

"Are you awake?"

The eerie, yet soothing voice gently tickled the boy's senses as he slowly turned his head towards the speaker. He couldn't decide where it was coming from.

"Wondering where you are?"

As if this was the magic word, Sora gasped and his eyes shot open. Everything around him was milky and unfamiliar as if he was in a stranger's dream. He stupidly looked around, occasionally blinking as he tried to fit the pieces in his hazy head. He tried to rub his eyes, but winced when he realized that his hands and feet were bond in chains. The cold, heavy metal dug into his skin, leaving it raw. He tugged at them weakly and then gave up. At that moment, he really didn't care. His head felt heavy and stuffed, and his stomach felt empty and hollow. Finally, he spoke out to the emptiness around him.

"Where am I?" It sounded more exasperated than frightened.

A chime of bells giggled from his left. He turned his head around as a slender figure slowly emerged. The blonde giggled again, her hand delicately covering her mouth.

"Why, you're at school, of course. Can't you see?"

Sora took the time to look around and his eyes widened. The whiteness slowly melted away to reveal the features of his dormitory-his and Kairi's dormitory.

"And where's Kairi?"

The girl sighed and lied down on Sora's bed, playing with her golden strands.

"She's back at the beach. I didn't need her-she already knows."

Sora furrowed his brow in question.

"Knows what? What does she know?"

Naminé sighed, brushed her hair back, and looked at Sora with a false sympathetic expression.

"I really don't want to tell you. So..."

Naminé tilted her head to one side and smiled.

"I'll just have to show you."

"ARGH!"

Sora let out a scream of agony as soon as the last syllable of the blonde's sentence tumbled out of her lips and echoed off the endless pit of nothingness.

"Are you okay?"

The pain immediately vanished as the voice pulled Sora out of the dark. Seagulls screeched above his head and the wave crashed against the boulders. The sand nestling his elbows and back felt soft to the touch.

He was home.

Sora finally looked up at the person before him to see a pair of bright eyes filled with worry rest upon his. The eyes belonged to a dainty snow-white face with flushed cheeks and full lips, which were being bitten by pearly whites.

"Are you okay?"

The lips were in sync with the voice.

"I'm fine," Sora heard himself answer.

The beautiful thing in front of him smiled and offered a small hand, which he automatically took. The girl helped him get up on his feet and brushed the sand away from his shirt.

"My name is Kairi."

The boy's racing heart suddenly stopped beating and plunged into the bottom of his empty stomach.

"I know that," He wanted to answer. But instead, he heard his voice reply:

"I'm Sora."

"I saw you fall down. Were you daydreaming? What were you daydreaming about?" Kairi paused here, almost as if she wanted to guess the answer. "The sky's really pretty today," she finally said. "And the water's so clear around this island; I can see the fish swimming at the bottom! Did you smell the flowers over there yet? I think they just bloomed yesterday night. The scent reminds me so much of my grandmother. She used to tell me stories about knights in armor rescuing princesses and the value of a person's heart…"

She abruptly stopped and glanced at Sora from the corner of her eye.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm boring you."

"I don't think I've ever seen you before…"

Sora blinked. Wait, what? Why did he just say that? This was Kairi. Of course he knew that the girl in front of him was Kairi. Then why…

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry! How rude of me. I just moved in a few hours ago and decided to look around my new neighborhood. The shells here are so beautiful. Look at these!"

She uncurled the fingers of her left hand to reveal small fragile seashells, glimmering in the afternoon sun. She smiled before curling her fingers protectively over her precious treasure again and letting her fist hang loosely by her side.

"Would you mind showing me around?" Kairi asked suddenly.

Sora raised a brow, and then smiled.

"Of course not."

The girl returned his smile and started to walk.

Sora followed after her, but fell after a few steps. However, she didn't notice.

That was because Sora was still by her side, listening to her as she talked about the different types of mushrooms she saw on her way over.

Confused, the brunet looked down and saw his hands and feet still bond in chains. But how was that possible?

Now the couple was out of earshot, but Sora knew that Kairi was laughing at his lame joke about moogles. He didn't have to follow them either; he knew exactly where they were going, and he knew that they were soon going to bump into Riku, who would later confess his affection for Kairi to him.

He knew.

He knew that in a couple months, the three of them would be inseparable and spend days and nights on the beach just looking out into the endless ocean, wondering about the other worlds out there while their rafts lay unfinished nearby.

He remembered.

"That's enough for you."

Sora whipped his head around and found himself facing Naminé again.

They were both in his room. Someone had lit the fireplace.

"What was that?"

Naminé smiled adoringly and lowered herself towards Sora. She crossed her legs and fingered the edge of Sora's pants.

"Oh, just a preview. A teaser."

Her fingers were now making invisible swirls and lines on his arm. The blonde leaned over and retraced those lines with the tip of her nose and cheek.

Sora shivered and wanted to pull away, but something told him to stay put.

Naminé yawned and then placed her head on his shoulder, her hair brushing against the side of his face.

"Did you enjoy it?"

"Why didn't Kairi recognize me?"

Naminé laughed as if she heard a good joke.

"I recognize you."

The hair on the back on his neck stood up; he knew that voice. He glanced up, not able to believe his ears.

It was not Naminé, but Kairi who was now leaning on his shoulder and tracing her finger along his arm.

Sora's brows furrowed and a growl rumbled in his throat.

"You sicken me."

Kairi looked up at him, her eyes swimming with confusion and pain.

"Why do I sicken you, Sora?"

"_It's just a trick_."

"I thought you loved me. I thought you always wanted to be with me."

Kairi's lips were hovering over his as she whispered.

"I thought we were going to be together…_forever_."

She leaned in and pressed her lips against Sora's as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

This was too much for the brunet. Her voice, her looks, even her kiss…they all resembled Kairi. Before he knew it, Sora had his hands straddling Kairi's waist and his eyes were closed as he tenderly kissed her back. He didn't even notice that the chains were gone.

He felt like he couldn't get enough of her. He felt a want, a need, a_hunger_. Sora pulled Kairi's small body closer to his chest and tangled his fingers into her auburn hair, the other hand wrapped around her waist and pulled it closer to his.

"_It's just a trick, Sora!"_

As if an alarm had gone off, Sora violently thrust Naminé away from his body and moved as far away as possible from her.

"What are you doing to me?" Sora gasped. His hands were shaking and his breaths were quick and short.

Naminé gathered herself up and straightened out her white dress.

"And where's the real Kairi?"

The blonde laughed.

"You just pushed her away a few seconds ago."

Sora balled his fists and clenched his teeth in anger.

"Naminé, this is no time to fuck with me. Where. Is. Kairi."

"What can I say; I'm selfish. I'm not willing to tell you where she is."

"Then explain what that previous image of her was all about. Why were we introducing ourselves?"

"Like I said, it was just a preview to something more, something that's probably really significant in your life right now."

"Is that what you call 'memory?'"

Naminé's smile immediately fell away and her confidence vanished.

"What do you mean?" She asked cautiously.

"That was my memory, wasn't it? You took my memory, didn't you?"

"How did-"

"And you took Kairi's away too?"

Sora stood up and slowly walked over to the blonde.

"You took our memories away?"

Naminé let out a shrill scream as Sora's arm shot out and grabbed her by the hair.

"How_dare_you? How _dare_you ruin our lives for the sake of yours, you filthy witch. What did we ever do to you? What did _Kairi_ ever do to you?!"

By now, Sora's voice was loud and thick. He threw Naminé across the floor and kicked her stomach. She groaned in pain and tears streamed down her face.

"I can't believe I spent the last few months dating YOU. I can't believe I actually felt _guilty_for having dreams of that mysterious girl.

"You make me sick."

Sora curled his fingers around the front of Naminé's dress and pulled her up.

"Bring me Kairi. Better yet, take me to her."

"Ha ha ha ha."

Confused, Sora loosened his grip on Naminé.

Was she laughing?

"Ha ha ha ha ha."

Naminé's shoulders shook as she bent over, her hair hiding her face.

"You are so young, Sora."

Sora's eyes widened.

A black hand had clawed at his arms as another jumped him from the back.

Within seconds, he was drowning in a sea of dark figures, black claws, and yellow eyes. He cried out in pain as one of them scratched his face. He was able to see the bottom half of Naminé's face as she bent over him and the black sea.

"I have a better proposal. Kairi's response to my other choices helped me refine them." Naminé twined her fingers together thoughtfully.

"I'll let Kairi go. In exchange, I will completely wipe you out of her memories. Her current school, her new friends, her new life—anything that reminds her of you will be erased. It would be as if she never even heard of Wataya High. In fact, you will be completely wiped out of this world. In other words, you won't exist anymore. Poof. Gone."

Sora's mouth slightly opened in disbelief.

"What are you talking about? You can't do that!"

"Oh, yes I can, Sora. I have a lot more power than you think."

As if this was a sign, the heartless creatures seemed to double up and swarm over his arms, his legs, his body, and his face.

"Or I can return Kairi's old memories, but I will make certain that you two will never see each other again. This means Kairi won't ever be with her _true love_."

Naminé wiped away a false tear and sniffled.

"So what do you say?"

Sora thought hard, clenching and unclenching his teeth. Both choices meant they were going to be ripped apart from each other.

"I'll go with option one…" he said slowly. It would pain Kairi less if she forgot his existence completely. Sora's eyes hardened and shot a look at Naminé.

"But let me just see her. Please. Let me see her one last time."

The blonde smiled.

"It's a deal."

OOO

Kairi sighed and ran her hand through her hair. Her eyes were still on Sora's motionless body. Despite the situation, he looked so peaceful…

"I love you, Sora," Kairi whispered.

Her view became fogged and misty as she cried on the glass. Not bothering to wipe away her tears, Kairi pounded on the glass walls of her prison.

"Let me out, you _witch_. Let me out!" she cried.

However, the girl only hurt her hands and her ears rang at the sound of her own voice bouncing off 360 degrees of glass.

Her shoulders shaking and her nose running, Kairi leaned against the dome and fixed her eyes on Sora again.

He was looking right back at her.

Kairi nearly screamed as she furiously wiped the fog and tears with the sleeve of her sweater and opened her eyes as wide as possible.

He was awake.

"Sora! Can you hear me? Sora!"

Sora was also on his knees and pounding on the glass. His mouth was moving, but Kairi couldn't hear anything.

Not a single word.

"Now that we're all together," said a light voice, "let's negotiate."

The empty chair was occupied again as the blonde with a white dress took out a small sketchbook and started doodling in it.


	20. Promises

**It's Kai, Not Kairi**

:Promises:

* * *

"Now that we're all together," said a light voice, "let's negotiate."

The chair in the center of the room was no longer empty. Naminé twirled a pencil playfully in her hand and wore a smile that even angels would envy. She gripped her pencil gently between her fingers again and made some feathery movements across her sketchbook. After erasing a few stray marks, she looked up at her two prisoners.

Kairi's face was a mess; her hair was damp and clinging to the sides of her pale face, and her eyes were moist and swollen. She was vainly shouting and cursing words that were inaudible to Naminé. Sora looked like he was so close to death that he could smell its foul breath.

And they were both contained in glass jars. Helpless and hopeless. Trapped.

Naminé leaned back until the arch of her back touched the wood of her chair. She tapped her chin with the end of her pencil, slightly tilted her head to the side, and soaked in the joy she got out of seeing them looking so vulnerable. Then she focused her attention back on her drawing.

"But before we begin, I'll keep my side of the deal," Naminé said as she made one last pencil stroke.

And just like that, Kairi was no longer leaning on the sides of her prison, but on the warmth of Sora's back. They were back at the beach—or what looked like the beach.

"Kairi!"

Sora reached for whatever part of Kairi he could get and roughly pulled her into his arms, fearing that a glass wall will wedge in between them again any moment.

"Are you okay?" Kairi gasped.

"Yeah, I'm feeling fine. Are you?"

Of course he wasn't fine. Both of them knew that. And both knew Kairi wasn't "fine" either. But Kairi nodded anyway, knowing that this was what both of them needed to hear.

Sora sighed in relief and buried his head into her hair. He felt her heart beating against his chest in rhythm with the crashing of waves against boulders. For a moment, he forgot where they were, why they were there. The brunet didn't know where to start or how to begin telling Kairi his encounter with Naminé earlier. Finally, he kissed the top of Kairi's head and gently pushed her away at arm's length.

"Kairi, I remember everything," he whispered. "The Secret Place, Riku, Highwind…everything. I remember it all."

Kairi looked up at Sora with confusion.

"How…"

Sora shook his head and smiled through sudden tears that had welled up.

"I don't know how. Naminé showed me a bit of my past, and that's all it took for me to remember the rest of it."

For a few more beats, Kairi's face remained motionless, then suddenly brightened as she threw her arms around Sora, knocking him down onto the sandy beach.

"I can't believe this! That means we don't need this witch's power at all!"

Sora couldn't help but laugh along with Kairi's happiness. But it only lasted for an instant.

"But we're still her captives," he pointed out solemnly.

Kairi's laughter ceased and she silently looked into Sora's eyes.

"We'll figure something out. Together," Sora said reassuringly. He pressed a light kiss on Kairi's lips. She smiled sadly and placed her head on his chest, then lifted it up again.

"What do you have in your pants? It's poking my leg," she commented.

She rolled off Sora as he sat up and dug through the contents of his pocket. His puzzled face suddenly stiffened as he touched the all too-familiar texture of the yellow star. He pulled it out—along with the one he found at the beach earlier.

Kairi recognized the yellow star from the amusement park. That day seemed like such a long time ago. It took her a bit longer to recognize the other item.

The thalassa shells, the pink smile, the blue edges…

Suddenly the foreign object looked so familiar in her eyes as she made the connection.

"That's my good luck charm," Kairi gasped. She gingerly lifted her hand and brushed her fingertips along the edges of the pendant.

Sora's eyes widened.

"This belongs to you?"

Kairi nodded, not taking her eyes off the star.

"I can't believe you found this…I made it for my brother--" Kairi quickly caught herself. She remembered that she never had a brother.

But if it wasn't for this brother Naminé created, who was it for?

Sora's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"I found it right here on this beach. I don't know why I picked it up. I never expected it to be yours."

"What beach?" asked a curious voice.

Kairi and Sora shielded their eyes at the sudden flood of light. They were back in the white room, and so was Naminé.

"You were listening to us," Sora said in disbelief.

"You were never even out of this room." Naminé said bluntly.

Kairi scowled.

"I'm tired of your tricks and illusions, Naminé. Why are you even doing this to us?" Kairi asked in exasperation.

Naminé arched a brow, looking amused.

"Why am I doing this you ask?"

She tucked a few strands of silky hair behind her ears and crossed her arms.

"Is that supposed to be rhetorical?"

"Shouldn't it be obvious by now? I'm trying to get rid of you, Kairi. Why?" Naminé held up her chin. "Because I loved him."

At the last word, Naminé flicked her eyes towards Sora. Naminé's forced laugh sounded hollow, metallic.

"Because I gave him all the love I ever had for anyone, and because you were receiving all of his," she continued.

Tinkling bells were replaced with metal grazing against metal as the porcelain face scrunched up to resemble angry clay.

Naminé held up her sketchbook and shoved a picture at Kairi's face.

"This was us after I got rid of you."

Kairi made out a picture of what seemed to be Sora and Naminé looking at each other with such tender. Their hands were both enclosed on the yellow star pendant.

"And this…" Naminé straightened up and turned the sketchbook around to see it herself "…is how we were supposed to be."

For a few moments, the others thought Naminé was going to cry. But she only let out a small sigh and calmly closed the sketchbook.

"I'm more than just your average artist, Kairi. I can make things happen. My drawings can become reality."

She slowly sat back on her chair and crossed her legs.

"But I guess I need more practicing. My first memory wipe didn't go too well on Sora. He kept having dreams of you and eventually got the entire thing back."

Suddenly, a glass flower bloomed under Kairi and then swallowed her.

"Kairi!" Sora shouted.

He scrambled onto his feet and charged at the glass walls, thrusting his entire body against it—but his efforts were fruitless.

"I'm not patient enough to perfect my mind-wiping abilities, so I've decided to that terminating you will be the quickest way."

Water started to pool around Kairi's bare feet. It was icy and nipped at her flesh. The witch was planning to drown her.

"Kairi!" Sora shouted, banging his fists against the walls. The good-luck charm was still clasped in his hands and made innocent, tinkling notes as it was hit against the glass.

Kairi's eyes dilated with fright and she, too, hit the walls of her prison with her fists. The water continued to rise. It was up to her knees, then her waist.

Both knew that the glass was impossible to break, but Sora continued to hurl himself until the translucent surface of the bulb glistened with smeared blood. His knuckles were torn open.

The water was now up to Kairi's small chin.

Sora never felt so helpless. A wall of glass. That was it. A wall of glass was all it took to keep him from saving Kairi after all they've been through. He could do absolutely nothing, nothing but stand back and watch Kairi drown right before his eyes.

"Kairi, I don't know what's going to happen to you or where you're going, but I'll find you!" he shouted against the glass, hoping his heart out that she could hear him.

"No matter where you are, I'll find you," he said. "I promise."

And through the red-stained glass, a smiling, white-and-blue star pressed against the wall was the last thing she saw before she was no longer able to keep her head above the water.

Kairi

Waves crash. Seagulls screech. Bare feet crunch sand.

Then somebody calls her name.

Grains of sand shifted under her as Kairi painfully rolled over to her side. Salty water pushed its way out of her throat and splashed onto the ground as she coughed and gagged. She desperately gulped for air and then peeled open her eyes.

"You're alive!"

Kairi clumsily wiped the side of her mouth and looked up at the silhouette blocking the evening sun.

"Selphie," she rasped. "What happened?

Her brunette friend bent down on her knees.

"I don't know what happened to you but I'll tell you what was supposed to happen. We were supposed to go shopping for the first day of school together! I was on my way back from the mall and saw you just lying here when I passed by." Selphie crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"I can't believe you decided to go to the beach without telling me."

Kairi motioned the talkative brunette to help her up. Selphie obeyed and pulled Kairi onto her feet.

"Sorry, I changed my mind," Kairi mumbled.

Tomorrow was the first day of school at Destiny High.

"Well, I'll forgive you because you look so pathetic right now. Here, come over to my house. I'll help get you cleaned up."

Kairi feebly nodded as Selphie started chattering about the new shoes she just purchased.

"And I wouldn't care as much if we weren't going to become high school students! Seriously, can you believe that?" Selphie exclaimed.

Kairi gasped.

"Oh wow, you're right."

High school. New school, new teachers, new friends… It meant starting a brand new life.

For the next four years, Kairi attended the local public high school. She dated, ran for class president, joined track and field, and experienced nearly everything any average high school student would.

Life was simple and happy.

"Hey Kairi," Selphie called out in a hushed voice.

Kairi and Selphie were currently in the middle of Calculus. The brunette sat in front of Kairi, and both were parallel to the wide windows of the classroom.

Kairi pushed her shoulder-length hair behind her ears and looked up at her friend, who had to twist around in her chair to face her.

"What?" Kairi mouthed.

The brunette excitedly pointed out the window, her emerald eyes twinkling with delight. Kairi turned her head towards whatever Selphie was pointing at.

About a few yards away, a person was standing near the school entrance. He didn't look familiar, but he was around their age. She assumed he was from another school.

Kairi looked back at her friend and shrugged her shoulders, furrowing her eyes in confusion.

"What about him?" Kairi whispered.

"He is _hot,_" Selphie replied a bit too loudly. Their teacher stopped lecturing and gave a disapproving glance at the brunette.

"Quiet down back there, ladies," he demanded.

Selphie winced and smiled sheepishly. Then she flipped to the back of her notebook, ripped out a piece of paper, and furiously scribbled words on it. She then folded it up and impatiently shoved it behind her towards Kairi's desk.

_I think he's new, because I would've totally been able to pick out a hottie like him in any crowd. Let's go talk to him after school._

Kairi crumbled up the piece of paper and threw it at Selphie's head, but smiled.

School was out in five minutes, and Selphie flew outside before the bell even stopped ringing with poor Kairi being pulled by the arm right behind her.

"Calm down, Selphie," Kairi hissed. She rubbed the socket of her arm and leaned against one of the pillars that stood on either side of the school entrance. The boy was leaning against the other pillar.

"Kairi, this is our last year here. Let's make the most out of it!"

Selphie pushed Kairi away at arm's length and observed her. She brushed the auburn strands away from Kairi's face and brushed the rest of her hair with her fingers. After straightening her friend's ruffled shirt, she turned her around and pushed her out of their hiding place.

Kairi stumbled forward and frantically glanced at the boy. He was looking straight at her.

She cursed under her breath and shot a glare at Selphie, who was wearing one of her eviler smiles. Kairi had fallen into Selphie's tricks again. Ever since Kairi's last break-up, Selphie's been desperately trying to find Kairi a new boyfriend. Kairi thought it was all so very, very childish.

Kairi turned back to the boy and was surprised to see him walking towards her. Her eyes widened and she backed away towards Selphie. She grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the open school gates.

"Kairi! What are you doing, he's coming towards you!" Selphie whispered angrily as she tried to resist Kairi's grasp.

"Excuse me, miss," the boy called out. He grabbed Kairi by the wrist.

Selphie widened her eyes in surprise and glanced at her friend, who was just as astonished.

"Sorry if I startled you," he said as he instantly let go of Kairi. He awkwardly coughed into his fist and stuck his hands into his jean pockets.

"But I was wondering if I could talk to you for a moment."

"Do I know you?" Kairi asked hesitantly.

"I-I'm a journalist from Wataya High, and wanted to interview few of the students who attend here," he explained.

The heavy atmosphere of uncertainy instantly lifted as Selphie broke into a smile and clapped her hands.

"Oh, go on, girl! Help out the poor journalist!"

The high school journalist smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.

"School only ended a few minutes ago, so it's pretty loud here. Why don't you two go behind the school where it's nice and quiet?" Selphie slyly suggested.

Kairi rolled her eyes and turned towards the boy.

"There's a park nearby with a playground. It should be empty," Kairi said.

Selphie looked disappointed.

"That should be fine," the boy said.

"Stay here, I'll be back as soon as we're done," Kairi said back to Selphie.

Her friend nodded and waved good-bye.

The playground was small and only satisfied three-year-olds. Why it was built adjacent to a high school, nobody understood. But sometimes, it was nice to sit on the swings or sit under the palms. Kairi liked to come by in the late evenings and listen to the crickets chirp.

"What are you going to interview me about?" Kairi asked, trying to make small talk. They were heading towards the swings hanging on the other side of the playground.

"Wataya High is an all-male school, so our academic career probably contrasts with a lot of other high schools, which are co-ed like Destiny High. This month's paper is going to be about those contrasts."

His answer was precise, almost recited.

"I see," Kairi said.

They arrived at the swings and sat themselves down.

"First of all, my name is Sora, Sora Wataya," he introduced himself. He stuck out a hand.

Kairi smiled and shook it.

"I'm Kairi Narumi," she replied.

"I'd like to thank you in advance for taking the time to contribute to our paper," Sora said gratefully.

"Oh, no problem," Kairi said brightly.

"Shall we start then?"

Kairi nodded.

The two spent the next thirty minutes discussing dress codes, teachers, and school discipline. During that time, Kairi observed how well this boy articulated his words.

She also noticed how blue his eyes were.

Without being too conspicuous, she studied his face whenever he jotted down notes in his notebook.

She wanted to know what was behind his professional act, wanted to know what was behind those blue eyes. She wanted to know him.

"I think that's it, Kairi," Sora concluded. "I greatly appreciate your time."

Kairi couldn't help but feeling disappointed as she got off her swing.

"I guess I can go now?"

The brunet didn't reply for a while, and then looked up at her.

"Not yet, Kairi. There's something I want to give you."

He dug into his pockets and pulled out a white star. It was chipped in places and dull with age.

And somehow, Kairi knew exactly what it was as the boy before her placed it into her hand.

"I kept our promise."

And Kairi knew.

Sora

He tried hard not to cry, really he did. But at that moment, it was so hard to just sit there and watch Kairi being drowned right before his eyes. He sat there and cried like a child, not being able to do anything.

It only took Naminé thirty seconds to kill Kairi, thirty seconds to make her disappear.

Sora never felt so much anger, so much hate as he faced Naminé.

"We had a deal, Naminé!" he shouted. "You were supposed to let her go, not kill her!"

Naminé furrowed her brows and her hands clenched into fists.

"Shut up!" she screamed.

"Revenge is a fickle thing, Sora. One moment you just can't wait to dig your nails in flesh and smell blood, and then you just want to be held and comforted the next. Can't you see, Sora? I'm doing all this—going through all this _pain _because I _love _you. Why can't you see that? Do you think I would really wipe out your existence?" Naminé paused to let it settle in.

"What does she have that I don't?" she went on. "What did she ever do for you? I've murdered people, Sora. I ruined lives. All so that I could get to you, Sora."

Her entire body shuddered and her breaths were heavy.

"And I don't regret any of it."

Sora stood frozen, lost for words.

Naminé was planning on keeping him here with her all along. All those options were mere tricks. Not even tricks. She was just playing with them.

"You make me sick."

Before he knew it, Sora felt the familiar, cool metal against the palm of his hand.

Naminé's eyes widened.

"You know you're not supposed to use that, Sora," she said, sounding frightened for the first time.

He swung the keyblade around to his other hand and struck the white floor with it.

"When did you ever care about breaking rules?"

Sora let out an exasperated sigh, "I'm tired of listening to your voice, but I listened to everything you said nonetheless. Now let me say a few words."

"You say you're doing this out of love," he began. "But you don't understand. We don't choose who we love, who we care about. Destiny does."

"Destiny? But I can control destiny. I can change it, and I did!"

She slowly sunk to the floor and buried her head in her hands.

"I could change it again…" she whispered.

Sora softly put a hand on Naminé's shoulder.

"You can start by letting me go," he said. His voice was soft, sincere. "And why not start fresh yourself?"

Naminé looked at him, confused.

"Go ahead, wipe me clean. Let us start over."

"I found Kairi once. I know I'll find her again. It might be tomorrow or years away, but I'll find her."

Sora could not read Naminé expression, but he knew everything would be alright. Even when Naminé silently picked up her pencil and notebook, even when his keyblade disappeared, even when the bulb bloomed from under him…he knew.

And he was right.


End file.
